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RAILWAY ORGANIZATION AND 
WORKING 



This volume is published under the auspices of the Advisory 
Board on Railway Education, whose co-operation with the University 
of Chicago has resulted in the development of the Chicago courses 
in railway organization and operation. 

ADVISORY BOARD ON RAILWAY EDUCATION, 1906 
Chairman — Edward W. McKenna, Second Vice-President of the Chicago, Miwaukee 

& St. Paul Railway. 
Vice-Chairman — Daniel Willard, Second Vice-President of the Chicago, Burlington 

& Quincy Railway. 
Secretary — Ernest R. Dewsnup, University of Chicago. 



Alexander F. Banks, President of the Elgin, Joliet & Eastern Railway. 

Abraham C. Bird, Vice-President of the Gould Lines. 

William C. Brown, Vice-President of the New York Central Railroad. 

Delos W. Cooke, Assistant General Traffic Manager of the Erie Railroad. 

Frederic A. Delano, President of the Wabash Railroad. 

John N. Faithorn, President of the Chicago Terminal Transfer Railroad. 

Samuel M. Felton, President of the Chicago & Alton Railway. 

Samuel T. Fulton, Assistant to the President of the Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific 

Railway. 
William A. Gardner, Vice-President of the Chicago & North- Western Railway. 
James T. Harahan, Second Vice-President of the Illinois Central Railroad. 
William Hill, Assistant Professor of Political Economy, University of Chicago. 
William B. Jansen, Fourth Vice-President of the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe* Railway. 
Harry Pratt Judson, Acting President and Head of the Department of Political 

Science of the University of Chicago. 
Julius Kruttschnitt, Director of Maintenance and Operation, the Harriman Lines. 
J. Laurence Laughlin, Professor and Head of the Department of Political Economy, 

University of Chicago. 
Harry I. Miller, Second Vice-President of the Chicago & Eastern Illinois Railway. 
Edward F. Potter, General Superintendent of the Wisconsin Central Railway. 



Railway Organization 
and Working 



A sertes of lectures delivered 
before the Railway Classes of 
the University of Chicago 



Edited by 
ERNEST RITSON DEWSNUP 



CHICAGO 

THE UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO PRESS 

1906 



f 5° 



<> 



^^ 



LIBRARY of CONGRESS 

Two Copies Received 
NOV b 1906 

Dyriffht Entry 

CLASS A XXc„ No, 
COPY B. 



<jS? 



Copyright 1906 By 
The University of Chicago 



Published October 1906 



Composed and Printed By 

The University of Chicago Press 

Chicago, Illinois, U. . A. 



PREFACE 

This volume is a compilation of special lectures de- 
livered before the University classes in railway trans- 
portation during the period extending from November, 
1904, to May, 1906. It may be said in explanation 
that the University of Chicago, during the past two 
years, has undertaken, in association with a number of 
railways, the training of railway employees with the 
object of increasing their professional efficiency. To 
this end, courses have been conducted in a number of 
subjects bearing upon the traffic, auditing, operating, 
and other sides of the American railway. One feature 
of these courses has been the practical co-operation 
of railway officials in the form of special lectures. A 
large number of applications having been received 
for printed copies of these lectures, as many of them as 
practicable have been collected into the present volume. 
It is the regret of the editor that he failed to secure 
others equally as interesting and as instructive as those 
contained in the subsequent pages. The volume, being 
but a compilation of scattered lectures, lays no claim 
to a balanced treatment of the whole subject of railway 
transportation. There are several obvious omissions 
which were unavoidable under the conditions sur- 
rounding the preparation of the volume. Nevertheless, 
to those acquainted with the literature of railway trans- 
portation it will not need emphasizing that the book 
really occupies a unique place. The numerous aspects 
of the railway service which it treats, the plain and non- 



vi PREFACE 

technical way in which every subject is handled, the fact 
that more than a score of railway experts of the high- 
est reputation have collaborated in its production, all 
combine to make the volume indispensable to the ambi- 
tious young "railroader" who desires to< make sure his 
rise in the service by establishing it upon as broad a 
foundation of knowledge as: possible. The lack of a 
concise treatment of the varied aspects of railway opera- 
tion has been felt for a long time by railway men and 
the interested public. 

It is' also to> be hoped that the book, and others of its 
kind that may follow, will have a stimulating effect 
upon the teaching of railway economics in our universi- 
ties. The study of this volume ought certainly to give 
the student of railway economics a more vivid appre- 
ciation of the organization he studies. 

But in arranging for the original lectures and in 
preparing them for this volume, the editor has had 
keenly in mind the influence it may exert upon the 
rank and file of railway employees, the men from whom 
our railway lieutenants, captains, colonels', and generals 
of tomorrow must come. The more efficient training 
these men can receive, the greater good will they be able 
toi confer upon the community with whose interests 
their business is indissolubly connected. One may 
almost dare to affirm that, in the solution of the so- 
called railway problem, education is likely to play a 
more beneficial part than much of the legislation that 
attracts public attention. 

The educational movements at Montreal, Chicago, 
and elsewhere are significant. The railways' are feeling 



PREFACE vii 

the difficulty of finding men equal to the responsibilities 
of the present complex organization. They are begin- 
ning to realize the necessity of drawing into their 
service many of those bright minds that find their way 
into a frequently thankless professional occupation. 
Consequently, we find the railways increasingly anxious 
to learn what the colleges and universities of the land 
can do for them in this regard. Though hardly under- 
stood by all at present, to the writer it goes without 
saying that it is just as necessary and just as beneficial 
for the railway officer to be trained scientifically for his 
work as for the civil engineer for his occupation, the 
doctor for the practice of medicine, and the lawyer for 
the pursuit of law. 

In the preparation of this volume, I am indebted 
first and foremost to the writers of the papers', and 
also to numerous others who have given me assistance. 
I am indebted to Mr. E. H. Fritch, Assistant Secretary 
of the Amercan Railway Engineering and Maintenance 
of Way Association, for the use of some of the dia- 
grams appearing in the volume. 

The index has been prepared by Mr. C. W. Schroe- 
der and Mr. A. G. Caldwell, Fellows in Railway Trans- 
poration, of the University, and I am under obligation 
to them for the assistance given in this and other ways. 

In an appendix I have included some papers written 
by students of the classes, which will be found instruc- 
tive and will serve the purpose of indicating the prac- 
tical nature of the educational experiment now being 
made by the University of Chicago. 

E. R. D. 



CONTENTS 

PAGE 

The Work of the Law Department of a Railroad 
Company i 

By Blewett Lee, General Attorney, Illinois Central 
Railroad. 

The Passenger Department 9 

By Percy S. Eustis, Passenger Traffic Manager, Chicago, 
Burlington & Quincy Railroad. 

Railroad Advertising 23 

By Charles S. Young, In Charge of Advertising, Chicago, 
Milwaukee & St. Paul Railway. 

Suburban Passenger Service 37 

By William L. Smith, Assistant to the Second Vice- 
President, Illinois Central Railroad. 

The Industrial Commissioner 44 

By William H. Manss, Industrial Commissioner, Chicago, 
Burlington & Quincy Railroad. 

The Problem of Handling Less - than - Carload 
Freight Expeditiously and Economically at 
Terminal Stations 63 

By Nelson W. Pierce, Local Freight Agent, Chicago; 
Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul Railway. 

Office Work ln Terminal Yards 76 

By Ferdinand S. Atkin, Superintendent of Terminals, 
Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul Railway. 

Car Distribution and the Supervision of Fast 
Freight 80 

By John M. Daly, Car Accountant, Illinois Central Rail- 
road. 

The Problem of Car Service 99 

By Walter E. Beecham, Car Accountant, Chicago, Mil- 
waukee & St. Paul Railway. 

Freight Claims 113 

By Ralph C. Richards, General Claim Agent, Chicago 
& North-Western Railway. 

ix 



x CONTENTS 

PAGE 

Some Notes on Freight Rates 127 

By Ernest R. Dewsnup. 

Organization of the Operating Department of 
Railroads 141 

By R. H. Aishton, General Manager, Chicago & North- 
Western Railway. 

The Purchasing Agent 147 

By E. V. Dexter, Purchasing Agent, Chicago & Alton 
Railroad. 

Ballast 160 

By A. S. Baldwin, Chief Engineer, Illinois Central Rail- 
road. 

Railway Terminal Facilities 175 

By L. C. Fritch, Assistant to the General Manager, 
Illinois Central Railroad. 

Railroad Signaling 196 

By Charles A. Dunham, Signal Engineer, Great Northern 
Railway. 

Classification and Types of Locomotives . . . 212 

By C. A. Seley, Mechanical Engineer, Rock Island System. 

The Compound Locomotive 226 

By W. R. McKeen, Jr., Superintendent of Motive Power 
and Machinery, Union Pacific Railroad. 

Car Construction 243 

By J. H. Ames, Chief Engineer, American Car and Foundry 
Company. 

Duties of a Comptroller or Chief Accounting 
Officer 264 

By F. Nay, General Auditor, Chicago, Rock Island & 
Pacific Railway. 

The Auditor of Expenditures 295 

By Harry M. Sloan, Auditor of Disbursements, Chicago, 
Rock Island & Pacific Railway. 

The Work of the Freight Auditor 335 

By W. F. Dudley, Assistant General Auditor, Chicago, 
Milwaukee & St. Paul Railway. 



CONTENTS xi 

PAGE 

Vitalized Statistics 367 

By James Peabody, Statistician, Atchison, Topeka & 
Santa Fe Railway System. 

Railway Development in Canada 385 

By William McNab, Assistant Engineer, Grand Trunk 
Railway System. 

Railway Education 402 

By Ernest R. Dewsnup. 

Appendix 427 

The Differentiation of Duties of the Officials of the 

Freight Traffic Department 429 

Returns from Local Freight Stations 433 

The Handling of Out-Freight at the Illinois Central 
Out-Freight House, Foot of South Water Street, 
Chicago 440 

Cost of Handling Freight 447 

The Red Ball System of Handling Fast Freight . . 458 

Per Diem and Car Service Rules ; Their Meaning and 

Application 463 

Index 489 

DIAGRAMS 

A Manifest Fast-Freight Board 90 

Train Block Used on Fast-Freight Board 94 

Freight- Yards — Types of Clusters Opposite 186 

188 
188 
188 
190 
190 
190 
190 



Type of Industrial District Yard 

Type of Division Terminal Yard ..... 

Type of Car Cleaning- Yard 

Type of Inbound Freight-House 

Type of Outbound Freight -House .... 
Another Type of Outbound Freight-House . 
Type of Inbound, Outbound, and Transfer House 



THE WORK OF THE LAW DEPARTMENT OF 
A RAILROAD COMPANY 

BLEWETT LEE, GENERAL ATTORNEY, ILLINOIS CENTRAL 
RAILROAD 

The reason why a special department is made of the 
legal work of a railroad company is simply that the 
amount of legal business is so great that, for its syste- 
matic transaction and economical management, such a 
department is necessary. This situation is not peculiar 
to railroad companies, but is the same with any corpora- 
tions or individuals having a large amount of property 
or business. All property invites predatory attack by 
those who wish to obtain it from its rightful owners. 
The property of a railroad company is peculiarly 
exposed. Frequently its tracks traverse sparsely set- 
tled regions inadequately policed. Enormous quanti- 
ties of goods are subject to its care, and may be lost by 
theft or accident. The nature of the railroad business 
is one which is extraordinarily provocative of litigation. 

A large part of the work of a railroad Law Depart- 
ment consists in giving counsel either by conference or 
by written opinions. The number of opinions called 
for every day in a large railroad system is very con- 
siderable — so great, in fact, that it is usually impossible 
for the general officers of the company to supply them 
without distributing the work to> subordinate attorneys. 
Frequently this is necessary for other reasons, as, for 
instance, the familiarity of local lawyers with the facts 
upon which an opinion is requested, or with the local 
law of the state or municipality which is involved. 



2 RAILWAY ORGANIZATION AND WORKING 

The conduct of the internal management of a cor- 
poration which owns a railroad is peculiarly under the 
survey of the Law Department. When a railroad 
company is organized, it is necessary to> obtain a charter 
from the state. In addition to 1 the usual reasons for 
incorporating — which are generally to unite the 
resources of many individuals for a common purpose, 
to avoid the incident of the death of its members, and 
to limit the liability which they incur — a railroad com- 
pany has an especial need of a charter for the following 
purposes. The right to take tolls must be granted by 
the state. Railroad companies are historically the suc- 
cessors of toll-roads,, such as turnpikes, built by private 
capital ; or, later, tramways upon which the public used 
their own vehicles and tolls were paid simply for the 
use of the way. Still later, railroad companies came to 
supply the carriages used upon their lines. This has 
not altered the principle that the state must consent to 
the taking of tolls. What is still more important, a 
railroad company must have the right to> condemn land 
— that is, to compel the owner to part with it at a forced 
sale for a reasonable compensation. Without this right, 
the expense of procuring way-lands for any consider- 
able line would be prohibitive. The state has the power 
to condemn land for public purposes, and this power, 
by charter, is given to* the railroad companies. While 
originally a charter required a special act of the legisla- 
ture, now in every state there are general laws under 
which, by filing certain papers and fulfilling certain 
conditions, a railroad charter can be obtained. The 
work of obtaining it belongs to the Law Department. 



WORK OF THE LAW DEPARTMENT 3 

After the charter is obtained, by-laws must be drawn 
which provide for the conduct of the business of the 
company — for its meetings, officers, and internal man- 
agement. The drafting and amending of by-laws from 
time to time is legal work. There is also the work of 
drafting the resolutions to be adopted at the meetings 
of the stockholders and directors of the company, and 
the preparation of the minutes for corporate meetings. 
Nearly all corporate action takes the form of written 
resolutions, and frequently such resolutions have to be 
prepared with great pains. In the case of consolidation 
of different railroad companies into' one corporation, or 
the purchase by one railroad company of the road of 
another, the minutes of the meetings of the corpora- 
tions involved are frequently very elaborate and care- 
fully framed to accord with the statutes covering the 
transaction. There is also* the preparation of the con- 
tracts of the company, which often are of the greatest 
importance. Leases of railroad properties have to be 
prepared, and must be drawn with care, so as to protect 
the rights of both the lessor and the lessee. Agree- 
ments by which traffic rights are granted to one rail- 
road company over the lines of another frequently 
involve much important detail. The preparation of 
mortgages of the railroad, securing bonds, calls for the 
greatest care. The financing of a railroad depends 
upon these instruments, and the most ingeniously elab- 
orate provisions must be inserted therein in order to 
tempt capitalists to invest in the bonds, and to provide 
for them the security to which they are entitled. 

The conduct of the business of a railroad company 



4 RAILWAY ORGANIZATION AND WORKING 

requires the drafting of contracts of very varied char- 
acter. Crossing contracts are often elaborate in their 
provisions, especially where an arrangement is made 
for the construction of an interlocking plant. The 
contracts for the construction of the railroad bed fre- 
quently involve great sums, and the most careful 
provisions are necessary to prevent litigation. The 
establishment of spur-tracks involves contracts for the 
protection of the railroad company against fire and 
other losses, and in the use of the spurs. Where the 
railroad company is not strong enough to purchase cars 
straight out, contracts of conditional sale of rolling- 
stock are necessary. Where way-lands are bought, 
deeds must be drawn. Leases have to be prepared of 
the lands of the company, not yet required for railroad 
purposes, which may be let to advantage. An enor- 
mous number of licenses must be drawn to parties who 
string wires above, or lay pipes or other structures 
beneath, the track. Where, for any reason, it is unde- 
sirable to commit the railroad company definitely to a 
given location, or time is necessary to examine land 
titles, options must be drafted for the purchase of land. 
Union passenger stations call for agreements of a com- 
plicated character. Elaborate leases of rolling-stock 
are sometimes necessary. Traffic arrangements between 
connecting roads are frequently embodied in written 
contracts. Contracts may be made to carry express, 
for the purchase of coal, for compressing and loading 
cotton, for the transportation of circuses, for the trans- 
fer of passengers and baggage between stations, and 
the like. There are forms of bills of lading to be pre- 



WORK OF THE LAW DEPARTMENT 5 

pared, covering the contract of shipment of freight, 
with special forms for the transportation of live stock 
or explosives. Where railroads are subject to a fore- 
closure, reorganization agreements may have to be 
drawn. The use of bridges or terminals also gives rise 
to elaborate contracts. 

Turning to the subject of litigation, it will be seen 
at the very outset that the condemnation proceedings 
necessary for the construction of the line will involve 
many suits. Damage suits on account of injuries to 
passengers or employees are unavoidable, and are apt to 
be very numerous; some involving fictitious, most 
involving exaggerated, too many involving real, 
injuries. Claims for injuries to live stock are likewise 
numerous, and stir up hostility toward the railroad 
companies in the public mind out of all proportion to 
the values involved. Fires caused by sparks from the 
engines give rise to frequent and very dangerous suits. 
A whole town may be burned by a fire started by the 
spark from an engine. Railroad companies are, as a 
rule, insurers of freight carried. Theft and accident, 
and especially fires, give rise to numerous claims, fre- 
quently of large amounts. The injury or delay of 
freight in transit is productive of many claims. The 
construction of the roadbed constantly gives rise to suits 
for damages by reason of overflow. Lost baggage con- 
tributes its quota of claims against the company. Such 
claims as cannot peaceably be adjusted ultimately give 
rise to suits, and even before suit is brought, the advice 
of the Law Department is constantly necessary in the 
process of adjustment. The company is constantly 



6 RAILWAY ORGANIZATION AND WORKING 

harassed by garnishments of the wages of its employees 
on its lines, and the danger of double payment is to 
be guarded against. The arrest of wrongdoers against 
the company has to be made under legal advice, as, 
upon failure of any criminal proceeding, a suit for 
malicious prosecution against the company may be 
expected. 

The relations of the company to the state make fre- 
quent calls for the services of the Law Department. 
Sometimes the defeat of hostile legislation in Congress 
or by state legislatures requires the services of the com- 
pany's lawyers. The ordinances by virtue of which 
railroads are built in cities, their tracks elevated, and 
their various connections with local industries estab- 
lished, must be passed upon by the company's counsel. 
The subject of taxation is one involving continual con- 
troversy with the state, and frequently gives rise to liti- 
gation of tremendous importance. State railroad com- 
missions not infrequently subject railroad companies 
to the most drastic regulations, and may keep the com- 
panies in a continual state of contest. Proceedings 
before the Interstate Commerce Commission have to 
be conducted, and frequently involve great labor and 
high technical skill in their preparation. 

In regard to the organization of the Law Depart- 
ment it may be said that, as in the case of railroad 
organization generally, it varies greatly, and especially 
with the size of the company. It is very difficult even 
to select an organization which can be taken as a type. 
The highest legal officer of the company is usually 
called the "General Counsel," but may be called the 



WORK OF THE LAW DEPARTMENT 7 

"General Attorney" or the "General Solicitor," al- 
though this latter title is frequently given to his 
immediate subordinate. He has, as a rule, superin- 
tendence of the entire Legal Department, and is fre- 
quently a lawyer of national prominence, or a man of 
influence with the powers that be. The position is one 
which calls for ability of a high order. The word 
"general" implies that the duties of the officer are not 
confined to a particular locality, but involve the whole 
line, or a considerable part of it. Where a railroad 
extends through a number of states, it is practically 
impossible for a lawyer to be familiar with the details 
of the legislation and decisions in all the states, and 
the necessities of the case require that in any state 
where a considerable portion of the company's lines are 
located there shall be a District Attorney, with juris- 
diction over the lines in that state or a part of them. 
Sometimes' a State Attorney is appointed, with au- 
thority over the Local Attorneys of the company 
throughout the entire state. In each county along the 
line there is usually a Local Attorney, whose business 
it is to try cases and to give advice for that county. 
These duties may even occasionally, though rarely, 
require his entire time and constitute his sole employ- 
ment. 

The work of settling claims and procuring evidence, 
and securing the attendance of witnesses, is imposed 
upon Claim Agents. It is their business to reach 
injured persons as soon as possible, and to endeavor to 
settle claims without delay. Even a short delay in- 
volves having to pay the claimant's lawyer as well as 



8 RAILWAY ORGANIZATION AND WORKING 

himself. The statements of the various witnesses are 
taken and reduced to writing by the Claim Agent, for 
the purpose of enlisting the witnesses, as it were, on 
behalf of the company, and also of preserving the 
record of the facts before they are forgotten. The im- 
portance of the work of the Claim Agents in the set- 
tling of cases has never been appreciated. A rough 
estimate has been made that it is about three times as 
expensive to> dispose of a claim by litigation as by 
amicable settlement. In some companies the Claim 
Department is part o<f the Law Department. Much is 
to be said in favor of this organization, especially in 
the case of personal-injury claims; some of the ad- 
vantages being, that the effort to settle is continuous, 
instead of being dropped when suit is brought, and 
that the time lost in communication and getting in 
touch between the Law Department and the Claim 
Department is saved. Few subordinate officers effect 
so great a saving in the expenses of a railroad company 
as good Claim Agents, and a false economy in not 
having a sufficient number of them, or in not giving 
them sufficient time for their work, or in not securing 
men of proper intelligence and ability, is apt to result 
later in a very serious increase of the company's 
unavoidable outlays. 

In conclusion, it may be remarked that, just as in 
medicine it is cheaper and more effective to prevent 
than to cure diseases, so* in the conduct of the affairs of 
a railroad company it is very much better to> consult the 
Law Department before taking a step than afterward. 



THE PASSENGER DEPARTMENT 

PERCY S. EUSTIS, PASSENGER TRAFFIC MANAGER, CHI- 
CAGO, BURLINGTON & QUINCY RAILROAD 

The Passenger Department, some railway officials 
have said, is like the appendix — of no apparent use and 
a great deal of trouble. Some people say it is a bureau 
which makes rules and arranges train service expressly 
to annoy and inconvenience the public. There is provo- 
cation for both these statements. 

In a general way, the public correctly understands 
that the Passenger Department is that which has charge 
of every detail relating to passenger traffic. From the 
point of view of the railway man, it is the department 
whose duty it is to obtain a part of the existing com- 
petitive passenger traffic, or to develop new business 
of the kind for the railway; and, as any department 
of the road is only a part of the whole, it must work in 
harmony with all other departments toward the success 
of the whole. There is, however, no well-settled plan of 
organization for the Passenger Department, no defini- 
tion of its functions, and no uniform outline of its 
duties and responsibilities. On some railroads it can 
hardly be dignified with the title of "department," 
being merely a bureau or clerkship in charge of some 
details. On others, the General Passenger Agent mere- 
ly has charge of getting passenger business for the 
company; and, judging from' his' actions, his chief 
intructions are to get business any way he can. 

On most railroads the Passenger Department prints' 

9 



io RAILWAY ORGANIZATION AND WORKING 

the tickets and distributes them to agents, fixes the rate 
of fare, and advertises for patronage. The Baggage 
Department is usually a bureau of the Passenger De- 
partment ; in fact, on some roads the head of the latter 
is the head of both. On some railroads immigration 
work is in charge of the Passenger Department, and on 
others it is a separate department. Some roads include, 
as a bureau of the Passenger Department, the Com- 
missary, for the operation of dining-cars, and this some- 
times extends to the operation or oversight of eating- 
houses. On a few railroads the General Passenger 
Agent also' has supervision of the United States mail 
and the express traffic, each of which is a business of 
considerable importance and has a necessary connection 
with the passenger-train service. 

On all railroads the head of the Passenger Depart- 
ment toi some extent influences the character of the pas- 
senger-train service which is offered for public patron- 
age ; but, as before stated, his duties and responsibilities 
in this respect vary greatly on the different roads, as' 
indeed they do with respect to every matter of impor- 
tance, as well as in regard to minor details having to 
do with passenger traffic. 

That the Passenger Department is' an important 
division of the railroad is clear when we realize that 
there are 207,000 miles of railways in this country, car- 
rying nearly 700,000,000 passengers annually on pas- 
senger trains running upward of 500,000,000 miles and 
earning a revenue for the railroads of close to $520,- 
000,000, of which more than 80 per cent, is for the 
transportation of passengers, and the balance is the 



THE] PASSENGER DEPARTMENT 



II 



earnings from miscellaneous traffic, such as express, 
mail, and baggage; the total earning of passenger 
trains being approximately 27 per cent, of the total 
earnings of the roads. 1 

There is great variety in the conditions under which 
the Passenger Department operates. It is one thing 
in New England, New York, and Pennsylvania, where 
the population is 750 people to the mile of road, and a 
very different thing in the West — in Nebraska and 
Colorado, for instance — where the population is but 
150 to the mile of road. In New England the pas- 
senger earnings of the railroads are more than 44 per 
cent, of the total revenue; on the New York, New 
Haven & Hartford Railway about 49 per cent, of the 
whole are passenger earnings. But on what is called 
the southwestern group of roads — those in Texas, Ok- 
lahoma, New Mexico, etc. — the passenger earnings are 
but 23 per cent, of the total. 

There is a like wide difference in the passenger earn- 
ings per mile of road and the earnings per passenger- 
train mile, as shown in the following table : 





Passenger 
Earnings per 
Mile of Road 


Earnings per 

Passenger 
Train Mile 


New England roads, Group i 


$ 6,c6s 

11,268 

1.354 

1,274 
2,523 


$1.27 
I.42 
I . IO 


New York, New Haven & Hartford Railway 
Southwestern roads, Group g 


Missouri, Kansas & Texas Railway 

Average for the United States 


O.85 
I.08 







In territory where the population is dense and the 

1 The figures in this and the following paragraphs refer to the year 
ending June 30, 1903. 



12 RAILWAY ORGANIZATION AND WORKING 

conditions are fixed by long experience, the public 
everywhere has passenger-train service more or less 
adequate and satisfactory, and the everyday study of 
the Passenger Department is to keep such existing traf- 
fic moving satisfactorily at the minimum of expense, 
and to increase the revenue by offering new and im- 
proved service. How very different are conditions in 
the West, where the population is less per mile of rail- 
way by 80 per cent ! In one district or state the popula- 
tion is chiefly urban, with a large class of business men 
and wealthy people having need or leisure for travel — 
and money, of course. In another district there are few 
large cities, and the population is mainly engaged in 
agriculture — people with a fair average wealth per 
capita, it is true, but with little need or leisure for travel. 
It is one thing to increase passenger traffic where people 
have little money, leisure, or necessity for travel, and 
quite a different question where a good many people 
have all of these. In many parts of the United States, 
in districts larger than European kingdoms, we have 
railroads with but a small contiguous population, where 
everything, the railroads included, is in a pioneer state ; 
and while people in such new settlements are, as a rule, 
good travelers, there are comparatively few of them to 
the square mile or to the mile of railroad, and the 
question of passenger-train service is not so< much one 
of present profit as of the development of the territory 
for future profit. 

In a business of such magnitude, conducted under 
conditions varying according to the size of the road 
and the territory which it serves, the difficulties are 



THE PASSENGER DEPARTMENT 13 

many and the problems important. I will outline a few 
on one of the western railroads. 

The first in importance is train service. The Pas- 
senger Agent soon learns that he may not run only 
such passenger trains as will earn the most money per 
mile of road at the least expense; the Freight Depart- 
ment would suffer if he did. In one place, for instance, 
the road w T ould lose a great deal of live-stock ship- 
ments if the Passenger Department did not furnish an 
evening train on which the stock-shipper may return 
free from his market to his home — a train for which 
there is, perhaps, inadequate paying traffic. In another 
place, where a daily passenger train earns but little, as 
the towns are small and the district agricultural, the 
Passenger Agent must run a service which the traffic 
will not warrant; else the people will ship their mer- 
chandise in, and their products out, by rival roads. 
Moreover, if this district is not easy of access by pas- 
senger service for land-seekers and business men hunt- 
ing new locations, it will not grow as it should. 
Thousands' of miles of our western railways were built 
— in fact, are now located — in sparsely settled regions 
of this kind. The question of today's passenger-train 
service is not so much one of what will pay now as what 
will best develop the country for future profit. 

Having fixed upon his train service, by whatever 
method, the Passenger Agent's next difficulty is that 
he cannot collect fare from all who* ride. A host of em- 
ployees are moved about from place to place free on 
passenger trains, that they may perform their duties in 
construction or repairing the road, and in transacting 



14 RAILWAY ORGANIZATION AND WORKING 

the business of the railway. To a considerable extent 
their families are also transported free. All this utilizes 
the carrying capacity of the trains, which is charged to 
the Passenger Department. As a rule, no account is 
taken of this' class of free business called "employees/' 
but it is very large. 

What is: even worse for the Passenger Department 
is the other free business. There are a great many 
reasons for this free traffic. One, for instance, is' found 
in the case of the stock-man, who commonly goes to 
market with a car or two of stock on a freight train, 
but returns home on a free drover's ticket on a pas- 
senger train. It is also common practice to give passes 
to newspaper-men along the line. Without at this time 
dicussing this free list in detail, it is sufficient to say 
that the aggregate is large. On a carefuly run railroad 
I have known it to* be 10 per cent, of its entire passenger 
business, taking noi account of the employees'. On few 
roads does it run much lower than that, and on many 
it runs much higher. It does not follow that the issue 
of these passes is unbusinesslike or unnecessary, and it 
is only mentioned here to> illustrate one of the diffi- 
culties with which the Passenger Agent has to deal 
in making a good showing for his department. No 
account is' taken, in reviewing the results of the Pas- 
senger Department, of the free business carried for 
other departments on the road. The questions asked 
him are: "How much per mile of road have you 
earned? How many miles of passenger-train service 
have been run to accomplish that ? What is the average 



THE PASSENGER DEPARTMENT 15 

earnings per mile for each train ? What is the average 
per train-mile?" 

As a rule, the discussion of results starts with a 
rather poor average per train-mile, and the head officer 
immediately raises the question : "Are we not wasting 
money in running such fast and handsome through 
trains ?" But a careful review of the average earnings 
of each train quickly leads to the discovery that the 
trouble with the general average is not with those 
trains, but with a host of trains' earning far less than 
the average, which are run chiefly to protect the inter- 
ests of the Freight Department, or not for present 
profit or real need now, but for the purpose of develop- 
ing a new country. 

Another difficulty presents itself in connection with 
rates. The manner in which we conduct all business in 
this country is sufficiently astonishing, and our railway 
business methods are not the least striking. It is, it 
must be, like our agricultural business, of wonderful 
vitality to stand the strain of so much that is foolish 
and wasteful in its conduct. To me, one of the most 
foolish things in the conduct of our railroads is the 
manner of making rates. The law in most states fixes 
a maximum passenger rate per mile, and an important 
function of the Passenger Agent is to make his reduc- 
tions from this figure with good reason; that is, for 
the greater profit of the road. By the use of the legal 
rates' per mile, or by agreement between competitive 
lines, or by some other method, a very reasonable and 
proper set of standard and regular rates is arrived at; 
but a lack of good business sense seems to be shown in 



16 RAILWAY ORGANIZATION AND WORKING 

the matter of reducing them for cause. Rates are very 
sensitive. An apparently sensible and businesslike 
reduction from the standard rate may be made for the 
movement of some business' in Illinois today, with the 
result of establishing a similar basis of rates later on in 
Nebraska, in a case where there is no good business 
reason for it. I have often referred to an extreme 
case, illustrating the sensitiveness of rates, which oc- 
curred some years ago. The roads from Missouri and 
southeastern Kansas made certain excursion rates to 
the Merchants' Fair, or fall festivities, in St. Louis. 
This' led to other roads making other rates from terri- 
tory contiguous to St. Louis and to other points; and 
the influence quickly spread until, as a matter of fact, 
a certain absurd and unbusinesslike reduction in rates' 
was made from St. Paul to Boston, because certain 
apparently businesslike and sensible rates had been 
made from Joplin, Mo., to St. Louis! 

It is in excercising this function of reducing rates 
that the Passenger Agent so often errs. In his effort 
to seek new traffic for his road by reducing the standard 
rates, he frequently fails to> take account of the effect 
of such reduction upon all existing traffic, or the traffic 
of the future, in that or other districts in which he is 
interested. This unbusinesslike proceeding is not, how- 
ever, peculiar to Passenger Agents', but is often prac- 
ticed by Freight Agents, and by those higher officials 
to whom, as they are my superiors', I shall not refer 
more specifically. 

The rate of fare between two points having been 
fixed by some means or other, there is no> way of main- 



THE PASSENGER DEPARTMENT 17 

taining it. It is maintained only so long as it is to* the 
interest of each road to do so. The obligation on the 
Passenger Department to reduce rates for profit, and the 
inability in any way to> maintain rates, is a constant 
source of trouble — one of the greatest we have. The 
public knows this, and often seeks to make it to the in- 
terest of one of several competing lines to cut the rate, 
sometimes by means of an offer to concentrate on one 
line the major portion of business — for instance, the 
transportation to a large convention of passengers who 
would otherwise divide their patronage among all the 
roads. More often, however, the suggestion to cut 
rates comes in the shape of a false, and perhaps dis- 
honest, report that a competing line has offered a con- 
cession. There is no man so credulous of such false 
reports as is the average Passenger Agent ; for, as there 
is' no fixed cost for transportation, Passenger Agents 
often seek advantage over their competitors by cutting 
rates, secretly or otherwise, trusting to the Lord that 
each such cut will bring extra business to> already 
scheduled trains, and will have no> concurrent bad effect 
upon existing traffic nor upon the business of the future. 
In other words, dishonest travelers and shippers con- 
sider the railway a proper "graft," and the contracting 
agent a "soft mark;" and he is. 

One might go on indefinitely describing the diffi- 
culties of conducting a Passenger Department on the 
average road, presenting important problems, differing 
on the different railroads and in the different territories 
which they serve ; but, in the brief time at my disposal, 



1 8 RAILWAY ORGANIZATION AND WORKING 

it seems to me better to outline my ideas as to> what the 
Passenger Department of a railway should be. 

In the first place, there is keen competition among 
the roads' in almost every part of this country, not- 
withstanding all that we read about community of in- 
terests and mergers; and, in the second place, this is 
a day of specialties. I have just been reading an Eng- 
lishman's notes on travel in this country. He seems to 
have been struck by our great versatility. He says we 
are horribly versatile, and is surprised at our unlimited 
exercise of the right of private judgment which, he 
says, not one man in ten is competent to exercise; and 
more to the same effect. These passing remarks of his 
are prompted by his experience on some of our rail- 
roads. He goes on to> say that, in his opinion, our great 
versatility results' in our merely putting the thing 
through — and occasionally we don't. To some extent, 
his comments are justified; but I think we are coming 
more and more, in our railway business, to follow the 
same definite and careful rules that people in other 
lines of business' are pursuing. It is with this idea of 
care and definiteness in every branch of the business 
that I venture to> make the following suggestions as to 
how a good Passenger Department should be con- 
ducted : 

i. The head of the department should have real 
charge of the passenger-train service, and of all the 
traffic that is handled by it. 

2. He should constantly confer, and co-operate thor- 
oughly, with the Freight Department — the more impor- 
tant revenue department of the road — and arrange 



THE PASSENGER DEPARTMENT 19 

the passenger-train service with the entire interest of 
the road in mind. 

3. He should have no responsibility whatever for 
the movement, or what is called the Operating Depart- 
ment and should be required, in every particular, not 
only to co-operate with the Operating Department as 
with the Freight Department in arranging passenger- 
train service, but to leave the handling of it to the oper- 
ating officials. 

4. He should have a Rate Bureau, which should not 
have authority to make rates, but simply to compile 
tariffs upon bases' laid down by the chief ; which bureau 
should be the only official source of rate quotations. 

5. His Advertising Bureau is important. A most 
ordinary piece of work from that department is the 
issue of the public time-tables, usually giving a list of 
agents who will explain what they mean. But real 
advertising, that which draws public attention to the 
road as a carrier, is' quite an art. Much money has been 
spent in advertising which accomplishes nothing, and 
only recently have the roads commenced to specialize 
that bureau. Some of the roads which do> this', how- 
ever, while keeping strict account of all advertising 
paid for in cash, take no account whatever of the cost of 
advertising which is paid for in transportation. Nat- 
urally this results in the issue of advertising tickets' in 
large numbers to buy advertising which is next to 
worthless. The chief should carefully block out, from 
whatever appropriation he has at his command for the 
year, what work is' to be done by the Advertising De- 
partment in each special district, and how it is to be 



20 RAILWAY ORGANIZATION AND WORKING 

done: so much in newspapers, so much in billboards, 
so much in booklets, folders, signs, maps, etc. 

6. A soliciting force should be employed, composed 
of men who are posted about the road for which they 
work, and not merely selected because they are good 
talkers, or liars. It is necessary to travel constantly to 
give information to the agents who' have to sell the 
tickets, and to call upon the intending passenger in 
response to inquiries. 

7. An Immigration Bureau should be organized. 
The importance of this varies, it is true, on the differ- 
ent roads, but almost all western roads' have sparsely 
settled, partly developed territory, and an Immigration 
Bureau is necessary for that reason. That a road's 
interests in that respect require careful attention is 
evidenced by the fact that an Indiana man will move to 
Texas' or Montana, according to the manner in which 
he happens to be solicited. 

8. The Baggage Department : Our system of check- 
ing baggage in this country is easy for the passenger 
and, all things considered, works very well; but the 
Baggage Department is necessary to' keep it going 
straight. 

9. The Commissary Department is, on a great many 
railroads, considered so special that it is not part of 
the Passenger Department. But as it does not pay 
expenses' on any road, and brings business, or other- 
wise, according as to whether or not it is run to suit 
the traveler, it appears' to me very necessary that it be 
just as much a part of the Passenger Department as is 
the Baggage Department. 



THE PASSENGER DEPARTMENT 21 

10. Mail and express traffic should be a bureau of 
this department. True, the mail compensation is fixed 
by law, and the usual express' arrangement is a con- 
tract for so much space, or a percentage of the express 
company's gross receipts; yet this traffic is moved 
almost wholly on passenger trains. Mail, express, and 
passengers' all have their special needs on these trains — 
the passenger traffic, however, being the important 
part; and unless all three are considered jointly, some- 
thing is going to suffer. Undue weight will be given 
to the claims of one to> the detriment of the others. 

Without attempting to go into details to the extent 
of suggesting how many titled assistants' would be 
necessary to carry out such a plan, I have given this 
outline as' much to- show how the Passenger Agent 
should classify his business and duties, as to show what 
these duties and his responsibilities are. ' If the Pas- 
senger Agent has his organization and his responsibili- 
ties well outlined in some such way, he can readily con- 
trol the business of his department. If it is not a suc- 
cess from every reasonable point of view, the fault is 
his alone. In case of failure, it will, I think, be found 
to be due to the fact that he does not get statements 
enough, and does' not sufficiently study the business of 
the day. He allows too many subordinates to make 
rates for him, when he should himself see that every 
tariff, and every departure from a standard rate, is 
made for what appears' to be good reason, after careful 
consideration; or he has a host of traveling agents in 
the field, at a large expense, from whom he requires no 
regular reports showing where they have been, what 



22 RAILWAY ORGANIZATION AND WORKING 

they have been doing, and what the results' are. He 
has arranged his train service on an extravagant basis, 
or in a manner unsatisfactory to the public, without 
proper conference with district and local passenger 
agents, superintendents, conductors, trainmasters, and 
other employees who are on the ground and can give 
the best advice. He may not receive — or, if he does, 
he may not study — the monthly statements showing 
the earnings per mile of every passenger train run on 
the road, compared with the past, and the receipts for 
ticket sales at every station. He may have spent several 
hundred thousand dollars in advertising, without any 
definite plan for its' use where it is needed and will 
count. He probably has no time to study carefully the 
art of wording an advertisement to attract the public 
notice, and employs for this purpose a worthy man 
who does not know any more about it than he does. 
He may have issued millions of miles of free tickets 
during the year, without reckoning that it is an expense, 
with the result that, as he placed no value upon what 
he gave, he got little value in return. 

These may appear to be exaggerations of the faults 
and difficulties in the conduct of a Passenger Depart- 
ment. They are only the leading mistakes we make, 
and I mention them deliberately and advisedly. 



RAILROAD ADVERTISING 

CHARLES S. YOUNG, IN CHARGE OF ADVERTISING, CHI- 
CAGO, MILWAUKEE & ST. PAUL RAILWAY 

Railroad advertising of today, like "all Gaul," may 
be divided into three parts : advertising to the traveling 
public, advertising to agents' of the home road, and 
advertising to agents of connecting roads. 

The church will pardon the illustration if railroad 
advertising to ticket agents be likened unto- home and 
foreign missionary work. Both are important, and, 
as with other missionary work, it is always a question 
of whether more money should be spent in home or in 
foreign missions. 

Suppose we consider ourselves away from home, 
and take up foreign missions first. Until a few years 
ago commissions were paid agents of connecting lines 
for business routed by them over what we may call 
"home lines." Those commissions have been abolished, 
and there is nothing of that nature now to* influence 
such agents in sending business over the home line. 
Therefore there is' a great need for interesting the 
agents in the home line and in its train service. There 
are a number of different methods in vogue for adver- 
tising train service to> ticket agents of connecting lines. 
In all of these methods the mail plays an important 
part, and the post-office reaps a big benefit. The mail- 
ing-card and mailing-leaflet are perhaps the most com- 
mon forms'. 

23 



24 RAILWAY ORGANIZATION AND WORKING 

Mailing cars are sent, by many lines west of Chicago 
to ticket agents of lines east and south of Chicago, and 
to ticket agents of lines west of the western termini of 
the Chicago lines. These mailing cards emphasize su- 
periority in train service, direct connections, low rates, 
or other features in which it is' hoped to interest the 
agents of connecting lines. A few of these, picked up 
at random from our sample-case, may serve as an illus- 
tration of what goes through the mail to these agents. 
One of them calls attention to a low rate to California. 
The address is placed on the reverse side by addresso- 
graph machines. The address does not include the 
ticket agent's name, but reads' for instance, ''Ticket 
Agent, Pennsylvania Railroad, Harrisburg, Pa.," so 
that any change in the ticket agent there will not neces- 
sitate a change in the addressograph chains. Another 
one calls attention to President Roosevelt's remarks on 
laying the corner-stone of the new gateway to' the Yel- 
lowstone Park; also to the choice of routes offered by 
the Chicago 1 , Milwaukee & St. Paul Railway. Still an- 
other deals with the possibilities of making money in the 
cattle business in South Dakota. Probably very few of 
the ticket agents east or south of Chicago' would or 
could take advantage of that opening themselves, but 
they are likely to* receive requests for information 
regarding such openings. In all of these the rate is 
the point emphasized, and the name of the line and 
the service of that line are made subordinate features. 

To vary the monotony of mailing-cards, a leaflet is' 
occasionally used. For instance, a leaflet, printed in 
four colors illustrating the autumn foliage of the Rocky 



RAILROAD ADVERTISING 25 

Mountains, has been used to call attention to the train 
service between Chicago and Denver in connection with 
the attractions of Colorado as an ideal autumn resort. 

An incident that took place in connection with the 
preparation of a leaflet calling attention to a tourist- 
car line via the St. Paul road from St. Paul and Minne- 
apolis to Kansas City and California, shows how impor- 
tant it is to watch little things in railroad printing. 
The figure of a small Chinese boy occupied the lower 
left-hand corner, and the compositor elected to display 
the name of the General Passenger Agent just below it. 
We saw the combination just in time to make the 
change and to escape trouble. 

A card, showing the train service between Chicago 
and about six or eight prominent summer resorts in 
Wisconsin and Michigan, and advertising the train 
service between Kansas City and Chicago, was sent to 
ticket agents of connecting lines south and west of 
Kansas City, where the climate is rather torrid in the 
summer time, in the hope that agents, by the use of 
these cards, would be able to answer inquiries regarding 
good summer resorts in the northland. 

Aside from mailing-cards and leaflets, the abundant 
and regular distribution of time-folders among agents 
of connecting lines' is an important work. Agents, we 
are told, will prefer a line whose folders come to them 
regularly. Most lines issue their folders on the first of 
each month, and, if agents of connecting lines' can 
know absolutely that they will receive a folder from a 
certain line between the first and fifth of each month, 
for instance, they will have a friendly feeling for that 



26 RAILWAY ORGANIZATIONJAND WORKING 

line merely for the cooperation it renders them by giv- 
ing the information needed. 

Books descriptive of various' resorts and sections of 
the country are sent in limited quantities. At the larger 
points on connecting lines' the ticket agent may receive a 
framed picture or a framed wall-map showing the sys- 
tem. Newspaper clippings, and page and half-page 
advertisements from newspapers, are also* sent to ticket 
agents of connecting lines to remind them of some fea- 
ture of the passenger service or of some bargain in 
rates. The use of back pages of newspapers, not only 
for the purpose of carrying page advertisements to the 
regular subscribers of the paper, but also to- serve as 
mailing-slips to ticket agents of connecting lines, has 
become common. In a recent issue of the Chicago 
Tribune there appeared an advertisement on the subject 
of larger sleeping-car berths'. On the opposite page 
there was an editorial on the same subject. The adver- 
tising railroad printed a red check-mark over the 
editorial, and a red hand pointing to the advertisement 
on the opposite page. Ten thousand copies of the 
paper were then mailed to agents of connecting lines. 

All of this work — the mailing of leaflets, cards, and 
newspaper clippings to ticket agents of foreign lines — 
like all other foreign missionary work, has to be fol- 
lowed up by personal effort; in railroad work, by 
Traveling Passenger Agents. Of course, it is' impossi- 
ble for these to see all the agents or all the coupon 
ticket agents'. They report to the General Passenger 
office as to the receipt of this advertising matter in 
their respective territories ; and if they state that adver- 



RAILROAD ADVERTISING 27 

tising is not received, investigation is started to 
ascertain which link in the chain is broken. 

Coming home from foreign missions, to missionary 
work among agents of the home line, I shall quote a 
few paragraphs from an advertising circular issued by 
the St. Paul road, which, I think, will indicate some 
important features of this side of railroad advertising : 

TO ALL AGENTS 

The object of advertising by this company is to increase its 
passenger business. It is important to keep this fact well in 
mind. 

Newspaper advertising. — Both display and reading notices are 
provided for by our newspaper contracts. We expect to receive 
this advertising as the paper expects to receive transportation 
named in contract. Any failure to secure advertising requested 
should be promptly reported to your Division Passenger Agent. 

Drop out-of-date advertising. — Out-of-date advertising is worse 
than no advertising at all. Cut it out. Recent inspection 
of papers carrying our advertising on transportation basis shows 
'a surprising amount of advertising for events that have passed. 
Publishers of newspapers are prone to allow a notice once 
inserted to run indefinitely. It is easier to do so than to change 
copy. The interests of the advertiser demand frequent change 
of copy, and you represent the advertiser. Vigilance is the price 
of good advertising, and }^ou will probably find it necessary fre- 
quently to call the attention of newspapers to the fact that our 
advertising must be published according to directions, and under 
no circumstances after the latest date given for insertion. You 
must give the newspaper dates for the advertisements. 

Business follows advertising. — Wherever and whenever possi- 
ble, inquiries resulting from advertisements should be promptly 
followed up with a view of securing the business. Following up 
inquiries forms the connecting link between advertising and the 
sale of tickets. 



28 RAILWAY ORGANIZATION AND WORKING 

Distribution of booklets. — Booklets descriptive of resorts on 
the lines of this company and of points reached by its lines are 
issued to promote business. They will be forwarded to agents on 
request of Division Passenger Agents, but should be distributed 
with judgment. They are expensive, and are intended for those 
likely to travel. 

Publication of news items. — From time to time news-slips con- 
taining current items of railroad news will be sent you for pub- 
lication in newspapers with which we have advertising arrange- 
ments. They will be carefully prepared from a news standpoint, 
and the advertising feature almost eliminated. If the editor 
does not care to publish them as news, his action will have no 
effect on his advertising contract with this company. 

Friendship with editors and reporters. — In delivering these 
items and advertising, and in handling transportation requests, it 
is urged that agents maintain a friendly attitude toward news- 
paper-men. The St. Paul road has received thousands of columns 
of complimentary publicity from newspapers, and expects to 
receive a great deal more. This service will be increased, and 
our advertising handled in a better manner, through the courteous 
treatment of newspaper-men by employees of this company. 

Advertising to be avoided. — This company has discontinued 
advertising in programs, booklets, souvenirs, catalogues, direc- 
tories, special editions of papers, and in novelties of all kinds. 
We will rely chiefly on the distribution of our own advertising 
matter, and timely advertising in newspapers, to help the agents 
sell more tickets. 

Co-operation in advertising. — Suggestions for advertising, 
and for the improvement of our advertising, will be cordially 
received and carefully considered by the General Passenger 
Agent. It is not possible to adopt all the advertising plans sub- 
mitted to this department, but frequently an agent has an oppor- 
tunity to call attention to an advertising feature that may increase 
passenger earnings, and that is what we want. If in doubt about 
any advertising matter, do not hesitate to consult your Division 



RAILROAD ADVERTISING 29 

Passenger Agent or the General Passenger Agent. They will 
help you. 

It is doubtful whether there is any class of advertis- 
ing so important to the railroad as newspaper advertis- 
ing. The publication and distribution of time-table 
folders is the only branch of the work that can be 
seriously regarded as competing with newspaper adver- 
tising for first place. The growth of newspaper adver- 
tising by railroads during the last few years has been 
most remarkable. In every case where results have 
been traced, the increase in ticket-sales has borne a 
close relation to' the increase in newspaper advertising. 
This growth has been largely at the expense of novelty 
advertising. With the progressive railroads the day 
has gone by when penknives, rulers', ink-stands, 
envelope-openers, clocks, and other forms of novelties 
were used for extracting money from the railroad 
treasury for investment in advertising. 

Of almost equal importance is' the advertising in 
magazines and weekly publications of national circula- 
tion. For prompt presentation of a subject of travel or 
immigration to> the entire country, no> class of publica- 
tions approaches these in value to' the railway adver- 
tiser. A small proportion of railway advertising in 
the magazines and principal weeklies is paid for in 
advertising transportation, but the bulk of it in cash. 

Within the last few years several railroads, notably 
those with tracts of undeveloped land to advertise, have 
used the cheaper weeklies and monthlies, known as 
"mail-order papers," to great advantage. For reaching 
the rural readers, who are in the great majority in this 



SO RAILWAY ORGANIZATION AND WORKING 

country, these papers are in a class by themselves. 
Advertising designed to attract immigration into a 
certain field is therefore apt to be most effective in these 
papers. Mr. J. M. Campbell, who now advertises Ivory 
Soap, and who formerly established a new and enviable 
record in advertising the Rock Island System, recently 
said he thought the immigration advertising published 
by the Rock Island in mail-order papers had proved to 
be the best advertising ever done by that railroad. 

Some railroads place their newspaper and magazine 
advertising through advertising agencies. Other lines 
prefer to have the advantage of dealing directly with 
the newspaper, and forego* the slight financial saving 
made possible by placing the work through an agency. 
With the metropolitan newspapers most of the display 
advertising is paid for in cash, and most of the reading 
notices in transportation. Both display advertising and 
reading notices in papers of the smaller cities and 
towns are paid for in transportation. 

The advertising in country papers along the lines 
of the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul Railway is han- 
dled by the General Passenger Department in Chicago, 
through the several Division Passenger Agents. The 
copy is written and sent out from Chicago', but the 
checking of advertisements is done by the Division 
Passenger Agent, who, in turn, takes up with the 
publication, either directly or through the local agent, 
the question of omission of the advertisements, wrong 
insertions, or other failure in service. 

The publication of news matter concerning a rail- 
road that will favorably advertise the road is secured, 



RAILROAD ADVERTISING 31 

occasionally in the metropolitan press and more fre- 
quently in the country press, by the modern railroad 
advertising department. The news may concern the 
installation of a new train, the opening of an Indian 
reservation to settlement, a particularly fast run, or 
any one of the large number of events that are fre- 
quently happening in railroad circles, which the papers 
are glad to> handle as news matter, if furnished with 
the facts sufficiently early. 

Coupon advertisements have been used by railroads 
more and more during the last few years. Especially 
is this the case with advertising that is to be followed 
up. For instance, low rates to South Dakota, to which 
state immigration is now strongly directed, is a subject 
that has been pushed in this way, and with profitable 
results. These coupon advertisements have resulted in 
a greater measure of advertising going to papers with 
large circulation. A count of coupons invariably 
shows that the greatest number is received from papers 
of great circulation, reaching the middle classes, rather 
than from papers of a higher quality, but of limited 
circulation. On the other hand, the readers' of the 
higher quality papers are not likely to cut out coupons. 
Many big advertising campaigns in the last five years 
have been directed to the great middle class, and, for 
that reason, coupon advertisements have shown a 
growth in railroad advertising. 

Railroads make use of bulletin-boards, flyers, win- 
dow-signs, and electric signs in their advertising work. 
Many railroads' use electric signs for night display in 
their city ticket offices. Bill-boards, with eight- and 



32 RAILWAY ORGANIZATION AND WORKING 

twelve-sheet posters, are frequently employed, and 
painted bulletin-boards are used in the larger cities. 
The distribution of framed maps and pictures — such as 
are seen in hotels and ticket offices — and of transparen- 
cies, is a common practice. Street-car advertising is 
often met with in larger cities, many railroads using 
double-space cards. Most street-car advertising is 
specially directed to some feature prominent at that 
particular season of the year. 

With reference to> the booklet form, of railroad adver- 
tising, the copy is generally prepared outside the 
department. For illustration, take the case of the 
booklet entitled Lake Lore, issued in June, 1904. Work 
on the book was commenced in April, 1903. Arrange- 
ments were made with Mr. Forrest Crissey to> write it, 
and he spent a good portion of one summer visiting the 
resorts described. Another book, Summer Homes, 
gives a list of summer resorts on the lines of the Chi- 
cago, Milwaukee & St. Paul, with information regard- 
ing hotels, boarding-houses, rates, etc. A larger 
quantity of the latter booklets is put out, as the cost 
of production is considerably less. 

The time-table folders are generally prepared, 
printed, and distributed by the Advertising Depart- 
ment. There are nine forms of folders issued by the 
St. Paul road; but the tendency is to< cut down the 
number to> one or two> forms. 

Through the editorial end of the newspaper, rail- 
roads endeavor to secure the publication of news items. 
These come from various sources, but, like most copy, 
are finally handled by the Advertising Department. As 



RAILROAD ADVERTISING 33 

an illustration, I may mention one which first appeared 
in the News of Chula, Mo. It was noticed, reprinted 
in slip form, and one of these slips was inclosed in all 
mailing matter from all departments of the railway, 
and from all outside agencies, for several months. It 
has' been reprinted by over 3,000 papers, and is still 
going. 1 

The lecture is a popular form of advertising with 
some railroads, especially western lines. For instance, 
a number of lectures on the Grand Canon are being 
delivered throughout the country. These call attention 
to the natural scenery^ and the advantages obtained 
through traveling via the particular lines mentioned. 
There also are a good many lectures' on Colorado, Cali- 
fornia, and Yellowstone Park. Inquiries from people 
who hear the lectures are furnished the railroads, 

*A GLEAM OF SUMMER SUNLIGHT 

A SURE 'NUF HURRY UP TRAIN BETWEEN CHICAGO AND KANSAS CITY 

The new train on the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul Railway 
passed through Chula for the first time Sunday night, about three 
hours after dark. There was no hesitation at Chula town, at least 
none perceptible. There are no high places in Chula town, hence 
we question whether she ever touched the track. She just ripped a 
great fiery hole in the darkness and left the atmosphere heated 
steam-hot for a second ; then whistled for Niantic or Chicago — we 
are not certain which. If "Central" had not been closed, we would 
have telephoned to Chicago to see if she hadn't run clean through 
the Union Station. She is sure 'nuff a "hurry-up train." Chicago 
is only about three miles up the track now. She is a gleam of 
summer sunlight, vestibuled and electric-lighted from the cowcatcher 
clear back a hundred yards behind the last coach. She is knee deep 
with velvet carpets, and her cushions are as soft as a girl's cheek. 
She is lighted to a dazzle and heated to a frazzle. She was built to 
beat the world, and her gorgeous splendor makes us chuckle to think 
we have a pass on her. She goes so fast that the six porters look 
like one big fat nigger. She is called "The Southwest Limited." 
She stops, going both ways, at Chillicothe, and you can get on her 
there, but, you'll have to hurry. 



34 RAILWAY ORGANIZATION AND WORKING 

and they are followed up by descriptive booklets and 
folders. 

Trie story o>f two advertising campaigns, very 
briefly told may be of interest. In July, 1904, the Rose- 
bud Indian Reservation in South Dakota was opened 
for settlement. The St. Paul road first brought the 
matter to the attention of the public through an inter- 
view in the Chicago Journal. The interview contained 
the statement that between 50,000 and 100,000 people 
were expected to take advantage of the opening. These 
figures caused some astonishment, and the interview 
was given considerable publicity on that account. De- 
scriptive folders, with maps and flyers, were printed 
and distributed liberally in the East and Central West. 
A timely Indian sketch was used for all advertising on 
the Rosebud opening. It was reproduced page-size in 
black and white in fifty of the best newspapers along the 
lines of the company. The Saturday Evening Post of 
June 9 of that year very opportunely came out with a 
page-and-a-half article, written by Mr. F. A. Miller, 
General Passenger Agent of the St. Paul road. It 
was good reading matter, and, in view of the fact that 
the circulation was something more than a half million 
copies, it is not surprising that the railway gained a 
great deal of advertising through it. Although the St. 
Paul road was more distant from the reservation than 
its principal competitors, it received the lion's share of 
the business. 

In placing "The Southwest Limited" — a new train 
between Chicago and Kansas City — in service in 
December, 1903, an excellent opportunity was offered 



RAILROAD ADVERTISING 35 

for advertising. This was done with folders, 
blotters, and eight-sheet posters throughout Texas, 
Indian Territory, Oklahoma Territory, portions of 
Missouri, Kansas, and Colorado, and in and about both 
Kansas City and Chicago. One train was started three 
days in advance, and exhibited in towns along the line. 
The train was a half-day late getting to Kansas City, 
because of the great crowds that came out at local 
stations to see the new equipment. Street-car ads, 
in addition to newspaper display and mailing-cards to 
agents of connecting lines, were used to 1 celebrate the 
day the train was one year old, and, so far as we know, 
it was the first train in America to a have birthday 
party. 

In addition to direct passenger business, there is the 
land and immigration advertising to be handled, and 
publicity matters in connection with the work of 
development along local lines — of the greatest impor- 
tance among western railroads. The St. Paul road, in 
September, 1903, at a time when some unfair crop 
stories had started about South Dakota, sent a party 
of newspaper correspondents to investigate these 
stories; with the result that it secured the publication 
of several hundred columns showing actual crop sta- 
tistics, wih splendid results to South Dakota. 

Most railroads have yearly advertising appropria- 
tions. Those of the western lines range from $50,000 
to $350,000 in cash, and double these amounts in trans- 
portation. 

The number of employees in the advertising depart- 
ments of Chicago terminal lines' range from a half- 



36 RAILWAY ORGANIZATION AND WORKING 

dozen to fourteen. In the case of the Chicago, 
Milwaukee & St. Paul Railway there are nine. This 
includes a time-card clerk, who is responsible for the 
correctness of every figure in the time-tables' showing 
the arrival and departure of trains for a system of 
over 7,000 miles. The principal folder contains 
seventy-two pages, and is' issued once a month. 

In conclusion, I think the work of real advertising 
by railroads has just started. There is still a great 
deal to be done, and there are excellent opportunities in 
this field for young men of ability and energy. 



SUBURBAN PASSENGER SERVICE 

W. L. SMITH, ASSISTANT TO THE SECOND VICE-PRESI- 
DENT, ILLINOIS CENTRAL RAILROAD 

The Illinois Central Railroad system enjoys the 
reputation, not only among professional railroad 
men, but among all who are well acquainted with rail- 
road operation, of conducting the best suburban rail- 
road service in the world. 

What probably first attracted the eyes of the world 
to this service was the wonderful record it made during 
the World's Fair in Chicago in 1893. Its achievements 
during that period were known and discussed, especially 
by practical men, all over the civilized world, and have 
been talked about until the present day. From May 
1 to October 31 of that year the Illinois Central carried, 
without the loss of a single life, or even an accident of 
any consequence, 18,339,184 passengers. When these 
figures are realized, and it is considered what was re- 
quired in the way of train movement and service, this 
result is almost beyond belief. Nothing nearer per- 
fection has ever been known in the annals of railroad 
operation. More amazing, however, even than this is 
the fact that on one day during the Fair — Chicago Day 
— this road safely handled 505,125 passengers — more 
than one-half of a million people, or about one-fourth 
of the entire population of this great city at the present 
time. 

From reliable sources it has been ascertained that 

37 



38 RAILWAY ORGANIZATION AND WORKING 

the total number of passengers' carried, at the present 
time, by suburban lines in the United States is about 
135,000,000 per annum. Of these the Chicago lines 
carry approximately 29,000,000 — not far from one- 
fourth of the entire number. The Illinois Central alone 
carries about 15,000,000, which is over one-half of the 
whole number carried in Chicago, and nearly 12 per 
cent, of the total number carried in the United States. 

Having thus gained, from reliable statistics, an idea 
of what the suburban carrying roads have done, and 
what they are "up against" — to borrow an expressive 
slang phrase — let us next consider briefly some features 
of the manner in which suburban service is performed, 
taking as a basis — and I believe the best — the operation 
of the Illinois Central at Chicago. I have been em- 
boldened to say the "best" partly by a remark made to 
me only recently by the President of the great Rock 
Island system, who' knows a great deal about suburban 
service, as well as about all other branches of the rail- 
road business. As he sat in one of our suburban cars, 
it gave me great pleasure to hear him say, with positive 
emphasis, that our suburban service was "the very best 
in the country." 

It has been said that railroads pave the way to civili- 
zation. With as much truth it may be asserted that 
suburban service, as much, or possibly more, than any 
other one factor, builds up the great cities' of the world. 
The principal requisites of such service are safety, com- 
fort, and speed, in the order named. 

The Illinois Central runs over three hundred subur- 
ban trains' daily in Chicago, and handles safely from 



SUBURBAN PASSENGER SERVICE 39 

40,000 to 50,000 passengers each day, over a total of 
fifty-six miles of suburban lines. By far the larger per- 
centage of that number is carried between the hours of 
7 and 9 o'clock in the morning, and 5 and 6 130 o'clock 
in the evening. The average train mileage per month is 
about 100,000, and as' each train averages nearly five 
cars, this is equivalent to a car mileage per month of 
approximately 500,000, or 6,000,000 car-miles in one 
year. What this means to a city of two million or more 
people, in their daily and nightly pursuits of business 
and pleasure, can hardly be estimated. 

The Illinois Central has eight tracks over nearly the 
entire territory in which it operates suburban trains. 
Of these tracks two are used for regular passenger 
trains, two for freight trains, two> for suburban express' 
trains, and two for suburban local trains. Of course, 
each track is used by trains' of the classes mentioned 
running in the same direction. These tracks are laid 
with the heaviest and best steel rails, and every inch is 
carefully inspected day and night to keep them in as 
nearly perfect condition as human agency can accom- 
plish. With a perfect roadbed, block signals, inter- 
locking switches, and elevated tracks for miles, without 
crossings' of any kind to> interfere with the movement 
of trains, it is possible to make the highest speed, and 
with almost absolute safety. 

During the rush hours in the morning and after- 
noon, suburban trains arrive at and depart from Ran- 
dolph Street about two minutes apart; and, to get a 
good idea of the perfection of the system under which 
they are operated, one should notice, at one of the inter- 



40 RAILWAY ORGANIZATION AND WORKING 

mediate stations, how both local and express trains 
closely follow each other, receiving or discharging their 
"precious cargoes of humanity" almost in a constant 
stream. From experience and observation, Chicagoans 
do not appreciate this service more than during the 
long, cold winter months, when they can, almost with- 
out exception, find these trains on time, and the cars as 
warm and comfortable as the home fireside. I have 
heard a number of persons say that they find this 
travel a real recreation, during which they read the 
newspaper, and find a few minutes for pleasant di- 
version from business cares. Some of the more senti- 
mental refer to the scenic features of the great lake, 
with its various beauties' for many miles, on one side, 
and the great city of Chicago, with its "towering monu- 
ments" and "stately mansions," on the other. 

As "in each life some rain must fall," so of this 
suburban transportation, which many men of many 
minds and of massive brains have striven to perfect, 
some will complain, not stopping to> draw the "deadly 
parallel," as the newspaper-men say, between such 
service as we are here discussing and other kinds which 
might be mentioned, did delicacy not forbid. When 
one can and does' travel for miles with the comfort and 
safety here described, there should be no fault found 
with the time. The railroad furnishes the maximum 
facilities for the prompt and safe movement of pas- 
sengers, according to their general daily habits of com- 
ing and going, so to speak, but at times the people seem 
to come all at once, and, as they want to go in the same 
direction, the train is crowded, and some fail to* get a 



SUBURBAN PASSENGER SERVICE 41 

seat. This' inconvenience, however, lasts only a few 
minutes at most. As usual, there are two sides to the 
problem. On a certain evening, a short time ago, 
there was a great crowd at the Van Buren Street sta- 
tion. A local suburban train, with three large side-door 
cars, each with a seating capacity of one hundred, came 
along. Every car was filled until there was no standing 
room, and the conductor said he had over five-hundred 
passengers. I was one of the number. I knew that 
another train was not far behind, and got off at the first 
station. In less than five minutes another train, with 
identically the same equipment and capacity, followed, 
with a total of lessiihan one hundred passengers. I 
think this illustration explains itself. 

The successful handling of the World's Fair traffic, 
mostly by side-door cars, resulted in the invention by 
our company of a greatly improved side-door car, a 
number of which have recently been put into regular 
service. The following is a partial description of it: 
steel construction throughout of the underframe and 
upper frame, giving greater protection to the passengers 
against accidents and from fire; a floor plan combining 
with transverse seats an aisle on each side of the car, 
affording access to every part of the car from either 
side ; side-doors which slide within the walls of the car, 
and end-doors' with vestibules connecting all the cars, 
affording access from within to every part of the train ; 
carrying capacity far in excess of any other car, with 
seats for the largest number of passengers; perfect 
system of lighting, heating, and ventilation; electric 
connection between the side-doors of the entire train 



42 RAILWAY ORGANIZATION AND WORKING 

and the locomotive, giving signal automatically to> the 
engineman of the opening and closing of doors ; abso- 
lute control by the trainmen of the opening and closing 
of the side-doors; inability of passengers to> expose 
themselves ten danger; rapidity of loading and unload- 
ing passengers without disturbance of those who re- 
main in the cars' ; distribution of passengers throughout 
the car or the entire train after it has resumed motion ; 
distribution of passengers evenly on station platforms', 
with assurance that the train can be entered conven- 
iently at any point ; short stops at stations', with conse- 
quent improved train schedules. 

This' side-door car is seventy-two feet long and ten 
and one-half feet wide. It has a seating capacity of one 
hundred. The "old-style cars," as they are now called, 
are of twoi sizes, with a seating capacity of forty 
and fifty-six, respectively. So rapid is the method of 
operating the side-door car that one hundred passengers 
have been discharged from a car at a terminal station in 
four seconds; and ordinary stops at intermediate sta- 
tions, where many passengers leave and enter the train, 
are made in six te> eight seconds. Since the introduc- 
tion of these cars', the number of accidents to pas- 
sengers, always comparatively few and trivial, has' 
decreased. 

What are known as "tank locomotives/' or locomo- 
tives carrying a supply of fuel and water upon their own 
frames, instead of upon separate tenders, are used 
almost exclusively for this service, and it is' the most 
extensive use of this class of locomotives in the country. 
These locomotives are approved for suburban service 



SUBURBAN PASSENGER SERVICE 43 

on account of being more compact, and cheaper to oper^ 
ate and maintain. They run without being turned, and 
are safe when the engine is running with the tank 
ahead. Express trains are run between Van Buren 
Street and Hyde Park, a distance of about six miles, 
without a stop. 

The suburban service of the Illinois Central includes 
a number of special features, such as regular fast 
through special trains, making long distances without 
stops, for the benefit of business men; also special and 
regular trains for golf-players and picnic parties, as 
well as for the accommodation of all classes of people. 
The service is not entirely confined to the carrying of 
passengers, special cars being fitted up for the expedi- 
tious handling of mail and express. 

It would take us too* far afield to enter into a similar- 
ly detailed discussion of other features of the service; 
e. g., how station and train platforms are on the same 
level; how train platforms are railed, and closed in 
with gates, to minimize the risk of accident ; how elec- 
tric bells at station waiting-rooms announce the ap- 
proach of trains; etc., etc. After all, suburban, like 
any other kind of railroad service, to be the best must 
be properly managed, and this is the secret of the Illi- 
nois Central Company's success from the World's Fair 
period to the present moment. 



THE INDUSTRIAL COMMISSIONER 

WILLIAM H. MANSS, INDUSTRIAL COMMISSIONER, CHI- 
CAGO, BURLINGTON & QUINCY. RAILROAD 

The pre-eminent factor in all business of modern 
times is the tendency toward concentration, and in this, 
as in all things, it is the direction in which we are 
moving that determines the final destination. We may 
not agree as to> the contributing causes, but we must 
recognize the fact that both in the United States and 
in Europe, where different conditions prevail, the high- 
est efficiency of production at the minimum expenditure 
of labor and capital is the result of concentration. This 
concentration means centralization of power, and cen- 
tralization of power means specialization. Specialists 
of the highest capacity must be secured for the manage- 
ment of the various departments. 

The railroads are representative of this concentra- 
tion in business, as each department is managed by a 
trained specialist. As President Hadley, of Yale, has 
said: "Among all our important industries the rail- 
way is the one which has most quickly and completely 
felt the effects of modern methods in the handling of 
capital." The Freight Traffic Manager knows more 
about freight rates, freight-handling, freight classifi- 
cation, than any man of the railroad. Under him are 
the tariff clerks, the classification men, the solicitors, 
etc., with their specialties; all, however, in the last 
analysis subject to' the Traffic Manager. This is true 

44 



THE INDUSTRIAL COMMISSIONER 45 

of every department of the railway service. No official 
presumes to interfere with the management of any 
department not directly under his supervision ; for such 
interference would be a gross violation of the unwritten 
law of railroad etiquette. That this is the day of the 
specialist is more marked in the railway service than in 
any other branch of modern industrial life. I have 
gone into this concentration and specialization in rail- 
roading at some length in order to show why the 
creation of new traffic and the development of territory 
contiguous to the railroad have been assigned to one 
department — the Industrial Department. 

The creation of new traffic is not a modern develop- 
ment of railroads. American roads from their incep- 
tion were built to create new traffic. Herein lies one 
difference between American and European railroads. 
Europe, with her centuries of development and dense 
population, built her railways to accommodate existing 
traffic, both freight and passenger. The builders knew 
approximately how much traffic they could figure on, 
before a mile of road was laid. In America the situa- 
tion was that of a sparsely settled country; the larger 
part of the territory through which the contemplated 
roads were to run was yet in the possession of the 
government, waiting for settlers. The roads were built 
for the purpose of creating traffic, of settling with im- 
migrants and pioneers the vast prairies, of building 
towns and enlarging the scope of their mercantile activi- 
ties, and, with the increase of population and wealth, 
of establishing factories and converting the raw ma- 
terials into finished products. So, I repeat, it is not a 



46 RAILWAY ORGANIZATION AND WORKING 

new movement on the part of the railroads to< create 
new traffic. The assigning of this work to a new and 
separate department is the result of concentration, and 
of the recognition of the fact that the creation of new 
traffic is a business in itself, demanding a specialist to 
study, plan, and execute as in every other department. 
Why the Industrial Department is a development of 
the closing years of the nineteenth century, rather than 
dating back to the beginning of the railways and their 
organization into departments, becomes apparent when 
we stop to consider some of the economic changes of 
the United States. We are called an agricultural na- 
tion. It took from the time of Washington's eighth an- 
nual message to Congress in 1796 to the days of the 
Civil War to pass a bill establishing the Department of 
Agriculture. It required twenty-six years more before 
its secretary was recognized as a member of the Presi- 
dent's cabinet. When the lands of the East became ex- 
hausted, the West still had large areas open for the 
homesteader. These lands were at the disposal of the 
government, and were all in the rain-belt. About the 
year 1890 a marked change was noticed. Since that 
date all free lands at the disposal of the government are 
found in the arid — or, strictly speaking, the semi-arid — 
regions, where the average rainfall is only from twelve 
to sixteen inches per annum. Cut off from migrating 
to the free lands in the rain-belt of the West, the eastern 
farmer commenced to pay more attention to scientific 
farming. The attention of Congress was called to the 
great possibilities of irrigation, and the Department of 
Agriculture looked to similar regions of Asia and 



THE INDUSTRIAL COMMISSIONER 47 

Europe for seeds and plants to be grown in our semi- 
arid regions, with the hope of larger results. Irrigation, 
however, is limited to the water supply of the rivers, 
and its danger lies in an overproduction of ditches, 
which will mean discontent and trouble. Semi-arid 
cereals must find their places in the markets of the 
world, and machinery must be created for their utiliza- 
tion and education for their adoption. 

The passing of the free lands in the rain-belt had, 
however, a greater effect upon the industrial history 
of the United States than it had upon the agricultural ; 
for the year 1890 is an epoch-making one in the com- 
mercial life of the nation. Before then the farms of 
Europe contributed the largest number to the population 
of the United States', and those who follow the reports 
of the Immigration Bureau will notice that before 1890 
the Teutonic,. Anglo-Saxon, and Celtic races predomi- 
nated. Since then, however, the Slavic and Latin races 
have contributed the largest number of our adopted 
citizens. They are recruited in large part, not from 
the farms, but from the congested cities and towns, 
and from the factories and the mines, of the continent. 
Before 1890 the faces of the immigrants were turned 
toward the growing West and the possibilities it con- 
tained ; but today the city nearest to their port of land- 
ing keeps the majority of them. The open air, the bat- 
tle with nature, the mastery for a home and a farm, 
were then the short history ; today it is the shop and the 
factory, and the wage-earner — one of a procession of 
flat- or tenement-renters. 

This is true, not only of the immigrant, but of the 



48 RAILWAY ORGANIZATION AND WORKING 

American-born citizen. In the growth of families, the 
farm became too> small to support the second genera- 
tion. An outlet had to be found. If farming were to 
be the vocation, some must leave the home to go where 
free or cheap lands were still available. Canada thus 
attracted many. It is stated that over fifty thousand 
American citizens emigrated to Canada in 1904, to< be- 
come members oi another nation. The population of 
some states — as, for instance, Iowa — is reported to> have 
decreased from 1900 to 1905. The farms could not 
provide a living for this generation, and they must seek 
other fields of activity. To what could they turn but 
to the industries? In 1880, 44 per cent, of the total 
population of the United States were engaged in agri- 
cultural puruits, and only 32 per cent, in commercial 
and industrial life; whereas in 1900 only 35 per cent, 
followed agriculture, and over 40 per cent, the 
industries and commerce. The growth o>f our cities is 
also indicative of the change toward industry. Since 
1890 over 37 per cent, of our people live in towns of 
four thousand or more, whereas before that not more 
than 22 per cent, were found in towns. 

In 1900 we had 44 per cent, more factories, 50 per 
cent, more capital invested in manufacturing, 25 per 
cent, more laborers in those factories, and the annual 
value of the output was worth 40 per cent, more than 
before 1880. In i860, 81 per cent, of our exports con- 
sisted of agricultural products, but in 1900 they 
amounted to only 60 per cent. During the same period 
our manufactured products increased from 12 to 32 
per cent, of our total exports; and this increase has 



THE INDUSTRIAL COMMISSIONER 49 

risen to larger proportions since 1900, some estimating 
it as high as 45 per cent. As an exporting people we 
rank third. Summing up, our manufactured exports 
have increased 483 per cent., whereas our exports 
of agricultural products are but 71 per cent, of what 
they were before the war. It might also be interesting 
to note the increased amount of coal, iron, cotton, etc., 
that we are using, as compared with the five great 
nations of Europe, but the time at our disposal will 
not allow this. 

It is evident, then, that the Industrial Department 
is the result of the natural development and economic 
changes of our nation. How best to meet these condi- 
tions, and to present the advantages which the rail- 
roads had to offer to manufacturers in the way of raw 
materials, fuel, labor, and market, was the problem 
that the managements of the roads had to solve. With 
the press of their own duties, the heads of other depart- 
ments could not devote the necessary time to make a 
careful industrial study of the territory through which 
the road ran, to devise ways and means for interesting 
manufacturers or local capital, nor to establish indus- 
tries and develop raw materials. What is everybody's 
business is nobody's business, and the many activities 
needed for the creation of conditions conducive to in- 
dustrial development demanded a specialist. Such a 
specialist, called the "Industrial Commissioner," is to- 
day an official of many railroads. 

What are the essential requirements of an Industrial 
Commissioner? Concerning this there may be a dif- 
ference of opinion, as every road has its own peculiar 



5© RAILWAY ORGANIZATION AND WORKING 

problems demanding* a man of temperament and train- 
ing able to deal with those conditions. 

The Industrial Commissioner must be a student of 
human nature — a man accustomed to deal with people. 
His office is much frequented by persons seeking infor- 
mation, asking advice, or presenting propositions. He 
can save much time, expense, worry, and misunder- 
standing if he can read character. There are promo- 
tions, and schemes of promotions, between which the 
Commissioner is called upon to differentiate. "To err 
is human," but corporations are looking for results, 
and one can be busy about trivial things and neglectful 
of the larger. 

The Industrial Commissioner should be a student of 
political economy. Thus he is able to note the changes 
taking place, and, with a resourcefulness common to 
all developers, to adapt methods to the changed condi- 
tions. He should have what we might call a speaking 
acquaintance with all manner of business. A manu- 
facturer seeking a location is favorably impressed when 
he learns that you know, if only in a casual way, some- 
thing about how he does things. Thus you are enabled 
to speak more intelligently on the sources of the raw 
material, the fuel supply and its amount, the market 
for the finished product, and the class of labor em- 
ployed. With such information a bond of sympathy 
between yourself and the person seeking a location is 
established, and this confidence will be of great assist- 
ance in the competition for the locating of the plant. 

The Commissioner should know the relative amounts 
of certain commodities produced, and the total imports 



THE INDUSTRIAL COMMISSIONER 51 

and exports. This is of great value in soliciting capital 
for opening mines, developing raw materials, establish- 
ing new factories, or in preventing some of the com- 
munities along the road from making investments 
which, in the very nature of things, would mean failure 
or long discouraging years of adversity. Advice from 
railroads, I appreciate, is gratuitous, but many Indus- 
trial Commissioners have received the gratitude of 
communities, not only for locating an industry, but for 
dissuading them from locating certain others. There 
is such a thing as having too many factories of one 
kind, and their establishment means that the "For 
Rent" sign sooner or later will be nailed to the front 
door. These vacant factory buildings are a menace 
to the establishment of other industries. In agricul- 
tural sections, where money heretofore has largely been 
invested in farms and farm mortgages, one industrial 
failure becomes the slogan of the so-called conservative 
element of the community. A tombstone makes a 
marked impression. 

In seeming antithesis to the foregoing, I would name 
the attribute of optimism as essential to a successful 
Industrial Commissioner. I do not mean by optimism 
either an oriental imagination or the quality of seeing 
everything as blue sky; for our economic life depends 
ultimately upon our relations with material things. The 
dreamer is essential to life's progress ; but an Industrial 
Commissioner is one who has been on the mountain- 
top and beheld the possibilities, and then has entered 
the valley of work to realize his vision. We may call 
it optimism in service, which calls forth all reserve 



52 RAILWAY ORGANIZATION AND WORKING 

patience, tenacity of purpose, untiring effort, and faith 
in the ultimate outcome. 

To the peculiar traits which each man possesses, pro- 
phetic as they are of his success or failure, must be 
added the spirit of co-operation. There is no> depart- 
ment of the railroad where co-operation is more de- 
manded than in the Industrial Department. It depends 
more or less upon every branch of the service, and 
requires the assistance of many an employee. This 
may seem a strong statement; therefore let me illus- 
trate. A manufacturer is contemplating a location. 
To locate him to mutual advantage, the Industrial 
Commissioner must consult the Freight and Passenger 
Departments on the question of rates; in case of side- 
tracks, the Operating and Engineering Departments 
must be conferred with; should there be a lease of 
company land involved, the Real Estate and Tax Agent 
must give his recommendation; the question of con- 
tracts must be decided by the Law Department; the 
Auditing, Claim, and Advertising Departments like- 
wise are involved ; and at all times the executive officers 
are consulted relative to plans and methods. The suc- 
cess of an Industrial Commissioner is largely due to 
the active co-operation and assistance he receives from 
every department and employee of the road. 

As the superintendent of a factory familiarizes him- 
self with his plant, its machinery, and his men, so must 
an Industrial Commissioner acquaint himself with the 
territory through which his road runs. If he can know 
it for thirty miles on both sides of the rails, so> much 
the wiser is he. He ought to spend the first six months 



THE INDUSTRIAL COMMISSIONER 53 

of his time on the road, putting himself in close touch 
with the factories, their owners and managers, and 
the business men of the towns ; studying the conditions 
to learn where the raw material is found, and the 
prejudices for and against certain kinds of industries. 
This knowing and becoming known is of much assist- 
ance in the correspondence which will follow. It is 
more satisfactory to correspond with a man you have 
met than with an utter stranger. You are thus able 
to cultivate a spirit of co-operation, and to send seekers 
of locations where they will meet a hearty and attentive 
reception. Prospective manufacturers have been lost 
to roads because they were sent to< towns which were 
prejudiced against their kind of manufacturing, and 
because they, reasoning from the particular to the 
general, concluded that the railroad was opposed to 
locating an industry like theirs on the line. While 
becoming personally acquainted with the various 
officers and agents of the road, the towns and their 
representative citizens, a complete census of every town, 
village, and hamlet along the system should be made. 
The population of a town and o>f its surrounding 
territory naturally is important to< every prospective 
manufacturer, as on that depends the supply of labor. 
Nationality also* is important. There are racial char- 
acteristics in trades as in politics and religion. Certain 
nationalities are more skilled in some lines o>f manu- 
facturing than in others, and some manufacturers prefer 
and require certain nationalities because of their past 
experience. The assessed value of the town and the 
tax-rate are closely scrutinized. The death-rate indi- 



54 RAILWAY ORGANIZATION AND WORKING 

cates the health fulness of the place. Every merchant 
and manufacturer needs the services of the banks, and 
he wants to know their number, amount of deposits, 
total capitalization, and the provisions for savings 
banks or loan associations for his employees. If hard 
times come, the so-called country bank takes a personal 
interest in a local corporation, and is more willing to 
provide funds than the large city institution. 

Some towns have suffered from, a want of manu- 
facturing activity because of the unfitness of the water 
supply for boiler purposes. In some towns factories 
cannot be induced to locate because the citizens, fearing 
an increased tax-rate, have voted against a water sys- 
tem, and thus are not able toi provide fire protection. 

A complete list of every industry on the system is 
essential to the Industrial Commissioner, that he may 
know the kinds of industry, the number of hands em- 
ployed, and approximately the amount of business 
done in each town. By ascertaining this, manu- 
facturers can determine, before seriously considering 
a city, whether they can, with advantage, locate there, 
and whether their line of manufacturing will conflict 
with, complement, or co-ordinate with the existing 
industries. For instance, from, these reports a foundry 
seeking a location could obtain information as to the 
number of factories using castings, the kind and 
amount, and whether a local market for its products 
existed. 

The subject of climatic conditions, as' they affect 
labor, is an interesting one, on which I shall not, how- 
ever, enter here. Suffice it to say that in the rigor of 



THE INDUSTRIAL COMMISSIONER 55 

the arctic regions, because of the benumbing tempera- 
ture, long nights and short days, scant supply of food 
and fuel, great economic strides cannot be made. In 
the tropics, with the profligacy of nature and enervating 
heat, activity is not looked for. The temperate zone is 
the home of the greatest economic progress. The 
changing seasons and the environment have much to 
do with the success of labor. 

Another important item is the labor and cost of 
labor. This, and the question of fuel, raw materials, 
and market for the commodity, are the four chief con- 
siderations. Many factories move in order to change 
their labor problem. Hence it is important to know 
what percentage of the people own their homes, and 
the politics of the town — not the partisan politics, but 
whether the predominating political power is in the 
hands of the men who own their homes, or in those of 
the renters; whether equity and justice prevail, and 
protection is afforded. The class of labor, the market 
for securing labor, the intelligence of the community, 
the educational and religious advantages for the 
family, and the character of labor utilized, male or 
female, must be known. Where the father and brother 
find employment, and the girl cannot, the family is 
likely to move to a place where all members desiring 
work can be accommodated. Often factories are in 
demand which employ none but women, in order to 
give employment to girls already there and to induce 
other families to move to the town, thus increasing the 
supply of male help. The price of labor will adjust 
itself to the supply, demand, and skill required. 



56 RAILWAY ORGANIZATION AND WORKING 

Without the raw material there can be no finished 
product. There must be hides for shoes and harness, 
timber for furniture and paper, iron for rails, etc. The 
office of the Industrial Commissioner should be a minia- 
ture museum, containing samples of the various clays, 
sands, gravels, coal, and other minerals, from the 
entire system — each with an analysis attached when- 
ever possible — together with a list of the places where 
timber, hides, wool, etc., may be obtained in abundance. 

The Mississippi Valley, with which I am. most 
familiar from the standpoint of manufacturing, is not 
at the present time blessed with water-power good for 
twelve months in the year; and water-power needing 
an auxiliary steam plant is not considered remunera- 
tive from an investment point of view. The power of 
the larger plants is thus derived from coal. Where 
this coal is found, the cost at the mines, railroad rates, 
heat units, disintegration, and the ability of the mines 
to supply the demand is necessary information. With 
the United States owning 40 per cent, of the coal area 
and producing 33 8-10 per cent, of the coal of the 
world, our economic growth can be said to be due in 
large part to the value, accessibility, and nearness of 
our coal-mines. The other mineral resources need 
capital for their development and exploitation. Often 
manufacturers are ignorant as to where their raw 
material can be found, and one of the functions of an 
Industrial Commissioner is to present to< the business 
world facts relative to the location of the raw material ; 
with the result that capital is soon raised for its 



THE INDUSTRIAL COMMISSIONER 57 

development, and an increased traffic in a new com- 
modity gained for the road. 

Most manufacturers and jobbers of today have dis- 
tant markets for the product which is moving away 
from their plants; and, in order tx> be near their 
markets, they either must move or provide warehouse 
facilities near their source of demand. Business of 
today is conducted differently from what it was fifteen 
years ago. Then it was no uncommon thing for a 
merchant to purchase his supplies for an entire season. 
Today the retail merchant allows the manufacturer or 
jobber to carry the stock, while he orders in small 
amounts, and demands that his order be filled and 
delivered at his store within forty-eight hours after 
ordering. This has led to the building of large ware- 
houses throughout the United States, so that these 
short-time orders may be supplied and the manu- 
facturer have a place for storage facilities. The ware- 
house proposition is one of the new phases of the 
Industrial Department. When the manufacturer can- 
not be induced to move his plant, advantages may be 
shown for the building of a large warehouse along the 
tracks of a railroad. Thus freight is created, and such 
a warehouse becomes a permanent source of traffic, 
both in and out. 

The Industrial Commissioner, together with the 
land and immigration agent, makes a market for the 
various commodities by increasing the population of 
the country. Farming has been extensive rather than 
intensive, and many are the unutilized waste places. 
The virgin soil and favorable climate in the past have 



58 RAILWAY ORGANIZATION AND WORKING 

produced in abundance, and large returns were obtained 
from low-priced lands. But lands, like corporate inter- 
ests, have increased in value, and farms once purchased 
for ten dollars per acre have increased to> one hundred 
dollars per acre or more. Watered stock you might 
call this, looking at it from a certain point of view. But 
the revenue on this valuation does not pay the fixed 
charges, and the farmer must apply the scientific method 
of farming, select and test his seeds, etc., and thus earn, 
not only the fixed charges, but also a dividend. The 
instruction of the farmer by means of the so-called 
"seed and soil" trains is a part of the work of the 
Industrial Commissioner; for he thus develops his ter- 
ritory, increases its productivity and wealth, betters its 
environments, creates more traffic, and ultimately will 
make farming more intensive rather than extensive. 
Intensive farming means more farms and larger popu- 
lation to the square mile ; and with an increased popula- 
tion the factories must soon come. 

Organization for action is generally accomplished by 
establishing commercial clubs, or improvement associa- 
tions, where such associations are not found; or by 
reinfusing into established associations, which have 
degenerated into social clubs, the spirit of their charter. 
This is one of the difficult tasks of the Commissioner. 
The enmity and jealousy in small towns are proverbial. 
The fear that some one member of the club will benefit 
by the coming of a factory has kept many a town from 
realizing its possibilities. Around the stove in the coun- 
try store sits the power that has prevented many a 
geographically well located town from becoming a 



THE INDUSTRIAL COMMISSIONER 59 

large industrial center. To such towns one must go 
and tarry, showing with all the force and power at 
one's command that, as mercantile centers, they are in 
a state of decadence; that the circle of their agricul- 
tural trade is yearly growing smaller because of the 
new progressive towns which have been founded near 
them, because of the inroads made by outside merchants 
which deprive them of much of their business, and 
because the rural mail delivery has made it unnecessary 
for the farmer to^ go to town for mail or to purchase 
his supplies f rom the local merchant ; so that their con- 
tinued prosperity depends upon their adding an indus- 
trial business to their agricultural and town trade. The 
employees of shops trade with the local merchant and 
rarely spend their money in other towns. Then, after 
organizing their commercial clubs, it must be learned 
what class of industries they desire, and how they wish 
to foster and induce them to come; or their attention 
may be called to certain small local industries which, 
with more capital, could be converted into larger insti- 
tutions ; or, perhaps, to some raw material in their town 
or vicinity which could be converted into the finished 
product at a profit. An active association can often 
thus be established, and a manufacturer sent there will 
always find someone to greet him, to show him the 
advantages of the town, and to call on short notice a 
committee to discuss with him the proposition, and he 
will thus receive encouragement for locating his plant. 
Enthusiasm for local improvement is a unifier of inter- 
ests, and a destroyer of personal enmity and jealousy. 
Press clippings, trade and mechanical journals, the 



60 RAILWAY ORGANIZATION AND WORKING 

many railroad agents and traveling salesmen, and 
personal contact with manufacturers and promoters of 
the better type, will greatly assist in obtaining informa- 
tion of manufacturers seeking new locations, or of 
those desiring to> develop certain kinds of raw material. 
No fixed rule can be framed for handling the various 
locating propositions presented. Each demands a care- 
ful analysis and a treatment peculiar to itself. Some 
demand a bonus; others, an increase of stock; others, 
a site ; and in others the raising of the entire amount of 
capital is necessary. Some of the firms advertised as 
seeking new locations should be sent to a financial 
hospital rather than to towns for the recuperation of 
their capital. Patentees who* have devoted time, money, 
and energy tOi the perfecting of an invention do* not 
always realize that a patent right does not carry with 
it a guarantee of commercial and financial value. In- 
vestigation, opinions o>f experts, and discernment on 
the part of the Industrial Commissioner are necessary 
before he dare call the attention of a commercial club 
to* a company whose capital stock consists of these 
untried patents. Although commercial clubs judge 
each firm on its' merits, yet they consider the unqualified 
introduction of a manufacturer or promoter by an In- 
dustrial Commissioner as equivalent to< an indorsement 
by the railway company, and for that reason will often 
grant a hearing and extend courtesies. Any industry 
desiring concessions or financial inducements for locat- 
ing ought to give to< a responsible committee of a town 
a report such as it would give, should it go to a bank 
and ask for a loan. Those who* refuse to do this ought 



THE INDUSTRIAL COMMISSIONER 61 

to receive no consideration. When firms locate without 
asking- for financial assistance from a community, their 
books are closed to the public; but when a firm does 
ask for financial help, it becomes, for the time being at 
least, a quasi-public institution. 

I might speak of the work of a Commissioner in 
suggesting improvements in terminal facilities in the 
larger cities, which will necessarily bring more jobbing- 
houses, warehouses, and factories; of his suggestions' 
for better facilities to take care of the traffic of the 
established industries; of his work in negotiating for 
side-tracks, as well as of his duties in representing his 
road at the banquets held by the various commercial 
clubs; but time will not permit, and I shall close with 
the following observation: 

It is not only in the establishment of industries, in 
the development of the territory to its highest produc- 
tivity, or in the increase of its population, and. of so- 
called secondary or local merchandise freight, that the 
Industrial Commissioner can be of value to the rail- 
road; but he also impresses upon its constituents that 
their interests are identical with those of the road, 
which is anxious to assist in building up their towns, 
by doing all that can reasonably be expected of it. For 
by increasing the prosperity of the farmer, the 
merchant, and the manufacturer, revenue is added to 
the railway's treasury. Thus the Industrial Commis- 
sioner secures for his road the good-will of the people ; 
and, in the final analysis, since prejudice for or against 
is one of the strongest human incentives, the good-will 
of the people becomes one of its most valued assets. 



62 RAILWAY ORGANIZATION AND WORKING 

This good-will obtains many carloads of freight, assists 
in securing passenger traffic, and makes possible the 
granting of the requests of the railway company. The 
Industrial Commissioner should be the link of harmony 
and co-operation between the public and its greatest 
benefactor. 



THE PROBLEM OF HANDLING LESS-THAN- 
CARLOAD FREIGHT EXPEDITIOUSLY 
AND ECONOMICALLY AT TER- 
MINAL STATIONS 

NELSON W. PIERCE, LOCAL FREIGHT AGENT, CHICAGO; 
CHICAGO, MILWAUKEE & ST. PAUL RAILWAY 

The problem of handling less-than-carload freight 
expeditiously and economically at terminal stations is 
one that has in the past commanded, and will ik> doubt 
in the future continue to command, the most careful and 
studious attention on the part of railway officials' hav- 
ing direct charge of terminal work at large originating 
and distributing points. While it is a very broad sub- 
ject, capable of elaboration, I do not think it advisable, 
for the purpose of this paper, to enter into details, but 
shall confine myself to brief reference to the main 
features. 

As a rule, the volume of traffic has increased much 
faster than the railway terminal facilities — this will 
apply as fully to the terminal yards as to the warehouses 
— and it has been absolutely impossible for the railway 
managements to anticipate the increasing demands. In 
the congested centers it has become almost impossible 
to secure additional ground room. Another feature, 
especially characterizing Chicago deliveries, is the ir- 
regular manner in which the freight is delivered for 
shipment. As a rule, the deliveries during the morning 
hours approximate 40 per cent, of the total tonnage of 

63 



64 RAILWAY ORGANIZATION AND WORKING 

the day. The heavy deliveries are made later in the 
day, and this' fact very seriously handicaps the expedit- 
ing of terminal work, from the point of view both of 
economy and of safety. The question of labor also 
enters into the matter of handling less-than-carload 
freight with due regard to economy of service. It is 
almost impossible to* maintain a force sufficient to* meet 
the emergencies, and it is, in many cases, equally impos- 
sible to fill in the depleted ranks promptly. Hence, 
with the extremely exacting conditions insisted upon 
by the business public, it is an absolute impossibility to 
supply all demands, either in receiving freight or in 
delivering it to the public. 

If freight delivered to the railway companies for 
forwarding to the consuming territory could be deliver- 
ed with uniformity as to hours during the day, it would 
greatly tend to* avoid delays at terminals and in for- 
warding, reduce to a minimum errors in loading and 
billing, and greatly improve conditions contingent 
upon the handling at the forwarding terminal. Special 
efforts have been made in the direction of overcoming 
the difficulties cited above, but commercial conditions 
have rendered it impossible even partially to 1 relieve the 
situation. 

The local freight agents in Chicago and at other 
points have in the past investigated the problem in its 
various phases, but, on account of the location and ter- 
minal facilities, it has been found extremely difficult to 
formulate a system that would apply to all. My 
recommendation in regard to this much-vexed question 
is that a system of uniformity should be adopted by the 



HANDLING LESS-THAN-CARLOAD FREIGHT 65 

various lines, based on practical experience in regard 

to— 

1. The hour for delivering at freight stations. 

2. The method of receiving, inspecting, and loading 
freight cars. 

3. Uniform hours for closing warehouses', to pre- 
vent delays in forwarding trains, at the same time en- 
abling the billing force to prepare the waybills in time 
to avoid delays in forwarding. 

4. Concerted action by terminal lines, which will, 
in my opinion, result in closer understanding with the 
shipping public and, to a certain extent, secure their 
co-operation in correcting the difficulties of the past 
and present. 

With a uniform system and a mutual understanding, 
as suggested above, the honest co-operation of the ship- 
ping public, and reasonable consideration of the ter- 
minal necessities by the railway managements in 
furnishing the best facilities consistent with the exist- 
ing conditions, the problem resolves itself into' a ques- 
tion of using the terminal facilities to the best possible 
advantage; and, as the future depends on the Local 
Agent, he will, as a matter of" pride and precaution, use 
his best efforts to handle the business' promptly and 
economically. This is a matter of: practical experience, 
as theories applied to the ever-changing conditions can- 
not work out good results. 

The teaming community has been more or less re- 
sponsible for the unfortunate conditions at terminal 
stations in the past, caused, to a great extent, by labor 
troubles' involving the different branches of labor 



66 RAILWAY ORGANIZATION AND WORKING 

unions. These conditions are, however, improving, 
and it is sincerely hoped that the disturbing element 
will soon revert to normal conditions. 

To handle this business expeditiously and econom- 
ically, it is necessary to have sufficient warehouses: and 
team driveways' to> accommodate it; also, cars for 
loading the same, proper distribution of territory to be 
loaded in each car, the least possible handling of freight 
from the time it reaches the freight-house door until 
it is deposited in the proper car for forwarding, and the 
least possible changes in the loading of cars both as to 
stations loading in them and places' situated on ware- 
house tracks for loading. 

The question of handling freight economically must 
be looked at from two different points of view, the 
operating and traffic. While it is a simple matter, from 
an operating standpoint, to reduce the cost from one to 
two cents per ton by reducing the force, this, as' a rule, 
means more detention to teams, which immediately 
gets the Traffic Department into' trouble ; with the result 
that, if sufficient help is not put on again and at once, 
the shippers threaten to withdraw their business and 
ship via other routes. Ofttimes the business lost in 
this 1 way is difficult to estimate and hard to> regain, the 
company losing more in the reduction of freight traffic 
than it gained in the diminution of the cost per ton. 
Therefore, from a business standpoint, it is not always 
a question of how cheaply a freight-house may be run, 
but how well; always keeping an eye on the expense, 
making every dollar count, while, at the same time, 
giving the shipping public the best possible service, 



HANDLING LESS-THAN-CARLOAD FREIGHT 67 

with the least possible detention to teams. Such a policy 
is bound to bring the business your way, as against 
your competitor who* has reduced his cost per ton to a 
point where he cannot take care of his business 
promptly and satisfactorily. 

Another problem that has given the officials of rail- 
roads a great deal of serious thought is the proper load- 
ing of freight so as to prevent overs and shorts. In the 
old days the chalk system was' used ; in fact, it is still in 
use on some roads. According to that system, when 
the freight was received, the caller called off the con- 
signee and destination, the receiving clerk called back 
to him the car number and location, which were put on 
the box with chalk, and from these marks the trucker 
delivered the freight to the car. This method had, 
however, so many drawbacks that it was discarded 
by the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul Railway and 
replaced with the veri-check system. 

The introduction of this system has had a noticeable 
tendency to reduce the overs and shorts, as the inspec- 
tors daily detect more or less freight, dropped into 
wrong cars by the truckers without being detected by 
the stevedores, which would have gone astray under 
the old system. It is true that the cost is increased 
under the veri-check system, as it costs from one to 
two cents per ton more to operate than under the old 
chalk system ; but this additional cost is' made up in the 
claim department by paying less claims on account of 
freight being incorrectly loaded. Besides, it produces' 
a better feeling with the shipping public to know that 



68 RAILWAY ORGANIZATION AND WORKING 

every safeguard is being put around the loading and 
forwarding of freight. 

The most important factor in the loading of less- 
than-carload freight is a good staff of freight-house 
foremen, who' understand their business thoroughly; 
who are capable of reducing the number of errors to 
a minimum, and to< trace and rectify those that have 
occurred ; who are competent to investigate and locate 
complaints, to arrange for their correction, and, to 
guard against their recurrence ; and who are sufficiently 
good judges of human nature to select, from among the 
applicants for freight-house work, the highest standard 
of men for truckers and callers, as it is' from the ranks 
of these that the positions of receiving clerks are filled. 
The assistants in each house should watch the receiving 
clerks, callers, and stowers, taking care that they do 
their business properly and with dispatch, and that the 
truckers do> not loiter and kill time in the runs. All 
freight-house team-yards should have a man to look 
after the teams arriving and departing, whose duty it 
should be to advise and instruct teamsters which doors 
to pull into to avoid delays, and to keep the freight- 
house doors busy, distributing the work at the doors 
equally. 

On the work of receiving clerks and callers largely 
depends the prompt and proper handling of less-than- 
carload freight, outbound, and it is of the greatest im- 
portance that these two branches' of the work should be 
filled with the best class of men that can be hired for 
the money. Their work is of the most trying kind, 
especially the callers, who are the men that come in 



HANDLING LESS-THAN-CARLOAD FREIGHT 69 

direct contact with the teamsters and are obliged to 
read the marks on the packages. There are a great 
many indifferent and incompetent teamsters, who do 
not properly stow their shipments on the wagons, thus 
causing long delays at the receiving doors, due to the 
fact that the freight must be sorted out before being 
loaded on trucks, and weighed and called off to the 
receiving clerk. 

Another impediment to the rapid handling of busi- 
ness is the indifferent manner in which some of the 
firms mark their freight. They seem to labor under 
the impression that the rule, adopted by the railroad 
companies a few years ago, that each and every package 
must be plainly marked as to consignee and destination 
was issued expressly for the convenience of the railroad 
companies, and they mark their freight in any way, 
so long as there is a partial compliance with the rules 
sufficient to avoid the danger of having the freight 
refused and returned to them. If the shippers would 
co-operate more closely with the railroad companies in 
marking their freight with a brush and ink, instead 
of with a carbon pencil, which shows up poorly on 
everything, and especially on certain kinds of boxes, it 
would materially reduce the expense of the roads as 
well as of the shippers, since the teams would be re- 
leased that much sooner, loss would be prevented, overs 
and shorts would be decreased. 

The hours for delivery of less-than-carload ship- 
ments to the out-freight houses' should be from /a.m. 
until 5 p. m., it being important to close these houses 
earlier than is the custom now, in order to allow the un- 



7o RAILWAY ORGANIZATION AND WORKING 

loading of all teams earlier and the loading-up of all 
freight received. This would enable the pulls from the 
houses to go to the distributing yards promptly at 6 
oi'clock, to be made up into- trains, which could leave 
without delay, and thus arrive at their destination at 
the earliest possible moment. If the yards are kept open 
later than 5 p. m. for the receiving of teams, either the 
pulls from the houses, and consequently the departure 
of the trains, are delayed, or the freight is allowed to be 
piled up on the freight-house floor, causing the addi- 
tional expense of rehandling, as well as risks of loss and 
damage by fire or otherwise by carrying freight in the 
warehouse over night. I do> not think there is' a rail- 
road in the city of Chicago that does not carry over 
more or less merchandise freight, except Saturdays and 
Sundays, on account of late delivery. This could be 
avoided by earlier closing, and with concerted action 
on the part of all roads, and still the same business be 
done. The shippers in that case could not attach all 
blame for delay to the railroad companies, as they do 
now. 

In this connection, there is a very important matter 
which must not be overlooked, viz., the billing of the 
freight, and the proper sorting and assembling of the 
bills to be sent to the distributing yards or passenger 
depots in time to go forward with the regular freight 
trains or by train mail, and reach their destination 
promptly. The fact that, at the present time, 60 per 
cent, of the freight for forwarding at the freight-house 
is received after 2 p. m. involves considerable work in 
the office after 6 p. m., and many opportunities for 
errors and delays. Arrangements should be made with 



HANDLING LESS-THAN-CARLOAD FREIGHT 71 

shippers' to send their shipments to the freight-houses 
more uniformity at all hours of the day, instead of con- 
centrating them in the afternoon, and to< load their 
wagons in such a way that each and every shipment, 
whether consisting of one, twenty, or more articles, can 
be unloaded from the wagons to the warehouse trucks' 
without any delay in sorting out the articles after arrival 
at the depot, each article being plainly marked wih the 
full name and destination, and the accompanying ship- 
ping ticket showing its actual weight. Such arrange- 
ment would materially facilitate the handling of less- 
than-carload freight. The railroad company furnishes 
a receiving clerk to check and receipt for the goods; a 
caller to take the goods from the wagon, place them on 
trucks to be weighed, and forward them to the car: 
and a stower to receive and properly stow them in the 
car; but a majority of the shippers', as a general propo- 
sition, send their goods to< the freight-houses so loaded 
on the wagons that it is impossible to< sort out the differ- 
ent packages for any one shipment, thus compelling the 
railroad companies to unload nearly the whole load on 
the freight-house floor in order to sort out the different 
shipments'. This is a source of great annoyance, delay, 
and additional expense to the railroad companies, as 
well as to the shippers themselves on account of their 
teams being delayed. Again, much of the teamster 
element of today is of such an indifferent and incompe- 
tent character that it is difficult to- make any headway 
at the receiving-doors, more delays arising from this, 
as a general thing, than from all other transactions in 
the houses. 



72 RAILWAY ORGANIZATION AND WORKING 

As an illustration of how the business is handled at 
the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul Railway Company's 
out-freight houses in this city, I will say that, for the 
out freight, less-than-carload shipments, we have two 
warehouses, the length of two blocks. There are 
twenty-nine receiving-doors on the team side of the 
houses, and nineteen doors on the car side, at which are 
placed at one time, for loading, 152 cars, nineteen cars' 
in length and eight cars in depth. Each car is desig- 
nated by a name and number, and is so placed each and 
every day of the week. The tracks are all numbered, 
beginning at the house, from 1 to 8, and the runs 
through the cars are numbered from 1 to 19, beginning 
at the west end of the house. 

To illustrate the manner of a shipment received for 
any one of these 152 cars, suppose that a team backs 
up to Door 19, with a shipment for Deerfield, 111. — a 
station on the Chicago & Milwaukee Division, between 
Chicago and Milwaukee. The caller will take the ship- 
ment from the teamster, put it on a warehouse truck, 
run it to> the scale, and call off the name of the con- 
signee, city or town, state, and weight. The receiving 
clerk will check the shipping-ticket to see if the same is' 
correct, and, if so, will give the caller a veri-check 
ticket, bearing the box number, run number, number of 
pieces of freight, with his signature attached. This tick- 
et is placed on a piece of freight on the truck, which is 
thereupon pushed out to the center of the house for the 
first trucker coming along to pick it up and take it to the 
car in which it belongs ; or, if a trucker is present, it is 
handed directly to him. The trucker is governed, as 



HANDLING LESS-THAN-CARLOAD FREIGHT 73 

to the movement of the truck, by the box and run num- 
bers on the ticket. The particular car in which this 
shipment loads would be the Pennock car, which takes 
freight from all stations on the Chicago & Milwaukee 
Division, from Pennock to Everett, of which Deerfield 
is one; and the run number would be 17, since the car 
stands 1 7 on Track 1 . In each car there is a box num- 
bered to correspond with its location on the track. The 
trucker will go to the car and see if the number on his 
ticket corresponds with the number on the box. If so, 
he will have the stower receive the freight and deposit 
his ticket in the box, taking his truck back to the house, 
and leaving it wherever he finds the first loaded truck, 
which he immediately handles in a similar manner. 
The stower will examine the shipment to see if it is in 
good condition, and will then stow it in as near station 
order as possible, putting the last shipments' to be un- 
loaded in the end of the car, the loaded near the door. 
Of in-freight, less-than-carload freight-houses we 
likewise have two, and we set for unloading at one time, 
at House 1 , thirty-three cars ; at House 8, twenty-three 
cars; total, fifty-six cars. We work the men in gangs 
of four or five, as best suits the business, the gangs con- 
sisting of a check clerk, a caller, and two or three 
truckers. The houses are divided into sections, both 
lengthwise and crosswise — crosswise as to the number 
of doors on the side of the house, and lengthwise with a 
fence through the center of the house, between the dif- 
ferent sections as made by the doors, the north side of 
the house in each section being used for the placing of 
transfer-to-connecting-line freight, and the south side 



74 RAILWAY ORGANIZATION AND WORKING 

for city freight. The check clerk takes his gang and 
goes to the first car adjacent to Door i ; the caller picks 
up the freight, puts it on a truck, calls off all the marks 
on the packages, which the check clerk then enters in a 
blind tally-book provided for that purpose. If it is a 
shipment for tranfer to> a connecting line, the trucker 
will be instructed to put it in Transfer Section i, which 
will be the north side of the house ; if for city delivery, 
in the city section, which is the south side of the house. 

To show how the men delivering or picking up 
freight for a connecting line know where to find it, let 
us suppose a man takes the numbers and initials' of all 
the cars set at the house for unloading, and enters them 
in a book provided for that purpose in the foreman's 
office, showing opposite each particular car its section 
for unloading. The expense bills for connecting lines, 
when sent to the foreman's office, are numbered to cor- 
respond with the section in which the car is unloaded ; 
and all expense bills for city freight, when taken from 
the cashier's office by owners or others, are presented 
at a window in the foreman's office, where there is a 
man whose business it is to section-number them, put- 
ting the number of the section on the expense bill. The 
party after the freight then takes it to the delivery man 
of that section as numbered, who gets the freight and 
delivers it to< the owner, taking his receipt for the same. 
In the case of such freight as butter, eggs, or cheese for 
connecting lines, it is sent directly from the cars to 
teams for transfer. 

The in-freight, less-than-carload business' requires 
good men for callers, checkers, and delivery men; and 



HANDLING LESS-THAN-CARLOAD FREIGHT 75 

I am sorry to say that they are hard to get and to keep. 
Before the days of the union we could and did get the 
proper amount of good work out of them, but at 'present 
it is different, it being their policy to< do as little as pos- 
sible for their pay, and not to allow a good worker or 
a non-union man to remain among them. 

As a matter of information, I may say that the less- 
than-carload business at the out-freight houses of Chi- 
cago averages some 800 tons per day, loaded into some 
1 75 cars, being received from some 700 teams, the time 
spent in unloading the teams averaging about 20 
minutes. At the in-freight houses there is unloaded a 
minimum of 100 cars each day, with a minimum ton- 
nage of 400 tons', and, besides all of the deliveries to 
city teams, there is a minimum of 100 teams per day 
loaded with freight for connecting lines. The business 
is increasing in volume every month, and, under the 
conditions, we are justified in expecting at least a 10 
per cent, growth each year. 



OFFICE WORK IN TERMINAL YARDS 

FERDINAND S. ATKIN, SUPERINTENDENT OF TERMI- 
NALS, CHICAGO, MILWAUKEE & ST. PAUL RAILWAY 

The office work connected with yard operations may 
be divided into three distinct parts: (i) "receiving," 
or "in-freight;" (2) "forwarding," or "out-freight;" 
and (3) "transfer," or receiving from and delivering to 
connecting lines. In immediate charge of this work 
is a chief clerk, who must be a man of considerable 
executive and business ability, since he is virtually the 
acting superintendent many times' in a day. 

1. In-freight. — The clerical routine arising from 
the receiving of freight arriving in trains from off the 
company's lines demands, for its' handling, a force 
consisting of a "train clerk," "number-takers," "seal- 
takers," "carders," a "transfer clerk," a "grain-sealer," 
a "rate clerk," and an "expense-bill clerk;" besides, of 
course, the chief clerk. 

On the arrival of a train in the yard, the number- 
takers secure a list of the numbers and initials of all 
cars in the train, also noting the condition of loads on 
open cars — whether they are low enough to clear tun- 
nels:, bridges, etc., and whether staked on the cars, etc. 
All the doors — side, end, and roof — are inspected by a 
seal-taker, who* records the seals attached to them. 
The seals now generally employed are made of tin, with 
a circular piece of lead attached. The tin band bears a 
serial number, and the lead disk, after a car-door has 

76 



OFFICE WORK IN TERMINAL YARDS 77 

been sealed, bears the impression of the seal-punch 
used — either letters or numbers identifying the station 
where the punch is used. All of these seal numbers or 
letters must be taken, and a copy made in an impres- 
sion-book for future reference. 

In the meantime the train clerk examines the way- 
bills as carefully as possible for "hold" or "diversion" 
orders, and makes a transcript of them on the "train- 
sheet," stating the car number, initial, forwarding sta- 
tion, destination, contents', and via what connecting 
line. After the train clerk has completed the tran- 
script, a carder tacks on each car a. card showing the 
road to' which the car is to be transferred, or, should it 
be destined for the home road, the switching district to 
which it is to be taken. The train is then ready to be 
switched into the classification-yard. 

Some of the incoming cars may have to* be trans- 
ferred to other railroads, and a record of all such is 
kept by a transfer clerk, the expense-bill clerk making 
out an expense bill for every loaded car thus handled. 
In connection with this work, the latter clerk also' sees 
that the bills' are properly extended, and it is the usual 
practice for him to call back the expense bills to the 
clerk so as to check any possible error. 

There is a rate clerk. who revises rates, or rather 
checks them over to see that the freight has been billed 
at a proper classification, and also to make sure, in case 
of through-bills, that his company is given its proper 
proportion of the through-rate. He is held responsible 
for all errors in wrong rates or extensions made by the 
billing agent. 



78 RAILWAY ORGANIZATION AND WORKING 

Where cars contain grain for inspection, a grain- 
sealer accompanies' the grain inspector, his duty being 
to reseal all cars opened for inspection or samples. 

2. Out-freight. — In the " forwarding" or "out- 
freight" work there are, as in the "in-freight" depart- 
ment, the usual number-takers, seal-takers, carders, 
rate clerks, and clerks taking care of waybills. As the 
outbound cars are made up into' trains, they are checked 
as before for their car numbers' and initials, and all 
loaded cars are properly sealed and reported to the 
train clerk, who then checks up the list of cars and 
furnishes a waybill for each loaded car, showing the 
contents, destination, etc. In the case of "foreign" 
empty cars', a way-, or card-, bill is furnished. 

The conductor of the train also 1 takes a list of the 
numbers of all cars in his train, which list is checked 
with that of the number-taker, and if they agree, and 
correspond with the numbers on the waybills, he re- 
ceives his waybills for the cars'. In addition, the list 
made by the number-taker is given to' the car record 
clerk, who records the numbers of the cars, date of 
leaving, train number, and destination. 

3. Transfer freight. — As regards transfer freight 
— or the receiving of freight from, and the delivery of 
it to, connecting lines — cars are usually classified for 
the various roads when first switched, and are then 
made up into "transfer" trains. A record is made of 
all cars loaded or empty. Duplicate expense bills are 
made for each car in the transfer train, showing the 
name of the consignee, destination, contents, weight, 
charges, car number, and initial. Both of the bills are 



OFFICE WORK IN TERMINAL YARDS 79 

sent to the road receiving the cars, one copy to be 
signed and returned by the agent of the receiving road, 
and the other to be retained by the receiving road for 
its' record. Any car received in a damaged condition, 
or short as to its billed contents, must be noted on the 
expense bill returned to the delivering road. This is 
also true as to seals, which, if defective, must be im- 
mediately reported to the delivering road by the receiv- 
ing agent, giving the car number and initial, date of 
its arrival, and a statement of the trouble. If the ex- 
pense bill is returned to the delivering road without 
any such addition, it is an indication that the shipment 
has been received in good order; and the transaction, 
so far as the actual transfer is concerned, is closed. 

Young men seeking employment with railroad 
companies dislike to take positions in terminal yards, 
as the pay is small, the hours long, and the work very 
exacting. Yet no one expecting at some future time 
to occupy the position of agent of a terminal station 
can afford to neglect this work. As' agent he would not 
be able to manage the station so successfully if he did 
not have the experience to be acquired in the terminal 
yard. Here is the first round of the ladder, and a 
person familiar with the small details can handle the 
general business to better advantage. It is a wide field, 
and I know of none better suited for a young man 
making his start in railroading. 



CAR DISTRIBUTION AND THE SUPERVI- 
SION OF FAST FREIGHT 

JOHN M. DALY, CAR ACCOUNTANT, ILLINOIS CENTRAL 

RAILROAD 

CAR DISTRIBUTION 

The conditions surrounding car distribution are de- 
pendent upon the commodities and the geographical 
location of the railroad. For instance, it is much more 
difficult to* handle car distribution on a road whose par- 
ticular product is grain or hay, than on a road where the 
particular commodity is coal or stock; and, again, it is 
more difficult to handle distribution on a road with a 
great number of branches or feeder lines, than on a 
road that has a straight main line. 

The first essential and all-important requisite is that 
the person in charge of distribution thoroughly famil- 
iarize himself with the products originating on his line, 
and the seasons during which they move. He should 
also* know the destination of such commodities, in order 
that he may, prior to* their movement, gradually ac- 
cumulate the surplus equipment in the section where it 
will be needed, and thus avoid hauling the empty 
cars out of the territory shortly before they will be 
required for loading. In this manner the empty car 
mileage, which is one of the large items of operating 
expenses, is reduced to a minimum. 

The Car Distributor must know at all times where 
his equipment is located. Such information is furnished 

80 



CAR DISTRIBUTION 81 

him by wire every twenty-four hours', giving the total 
number of each class of car on hand loaded, empty, held 
for movement, and in bad order. These data are com- 
piled on each train district by the Chief Dispatcher at 
a given hour each day, the agent telegraphing the 
Chief Dispatcher, on a printed form, the number of 
cars waiting for movement east and the number of cars 
waiting for movement west, over or less than forty- 
eight hours ; the number of cars held for unloading at 
his station; the number of empty cars of each class — 
box, stock, coal, etc. — on hand ; the number of cars re- 
quired for loading, under which item are specified the 
products awaiting shipment, the destination of the ship- 
ment, and, if beyond the home road, the route over 
which the consignment will be sent, so that the Chief 
Dispatcher may utilize foreign railroad cars belonging 
to lines over which the business will move. 

In order that the agent may get this information 
correctly, the shipper is furnished with regular printed 
forms, on which are shown what cars he requires. This 
form reads about as follows : 

CAR ORDER FORM 



RAILROAD 



.190. 



To Agent, 



Please furnish cars as follows: 

Wo^i,i of Cars Cars Load tion of of Remarks 

v\amea \i7„„ + „,j w„„+«j wi+u cu,-^™'* cu^m't 



Number 


Kind of 


To 


Destina- 


Route 


of Cars 


Cars 


Load 


tion of 


of 


Wanted 


Wanted 


With 


Shipm't 


Shipm't 



82 RAILWAY ORGANIZATION AND WORKING 

This printed car-order form is Supplied to shippers 
in order to insure getting from them a clear and distinct 
statement of their requirements, so that the Chief Dis- 
patcher may use his best judgment, and very often fur- 
nish a shipper with empty cars belonging to> the road 
to which the traffic will be delivered, that being much 
preferable to loading the cars of his own line away 
from home. 

For certain commodities, such as lumber, machinery, 
and ties, shippers frequently order coal- or flat-cars, it 
being more convenient to load the product into these 
than into box- or stock-cars. When such orders are 
placed, showing the commodity, destination, etc., the 
Chief Dispatcher can, however, often prevail on the 
shippers to use box- or stock-cars, when it is to the inter- 
est of the road to do so. For example, a railroad may 
have a shipment in southern Illinois for points in Iowa 
or Minnesota. The shipper calls for coal-cars, which, if 
loaded into Iowa, where the road has no> return traffic 
for them, must come back empty. On the other hand the 
road may have some stock- or box-cars moving west 
empty, which, if utilized, would save the empty haul 
into Iowa, and, in addition, would save the empty haul 
from Iowa back to' the southern Illinois mines, if the 
coal- or flat-cars were used. Again, a shipper may 
order, for instance, Illinois Central large-capacity box- 
cars for a shipment of grain, cotton, or any other com- 
modity. If he did not insist upon knowing its desti- 
nation and route, the Dispatcher might furnish Illinois 
Central cars for it. The shipment is, however, destined 
for New York or New England points, to which some 



CAR DISTRIBUTION 83 

eastern foreign cars, then on the division, may be uti- 
lized. 

This printed form is simply one part of a system 
which is absolutely necessary to insure successful car 
distribution. The plainer and simpler the system, the 
better will be the results obtained; whereas, without 
system, there can be nothing but confusion. The print- 
ing of these small blank costs' but a trifle ; but by enu- 
merating on them each item of information required, 
they become a safeguard against agents' accepting 
incomplete orders and confusing the Dispatchers. 

It is a deplorable fact that some employees seem to 
think that the supervising officials of railroads delight 
in detecting errors on their subordinates. This, of 
course, is an entirely erroneous impression : two-thirds 
of the time of superintendents is devoted to formulating 
rules and devising means to prevent their men from 
making mistakes. The superior officer is as much 
responsible for the errors and acts of those under his 
authority as he is for his own, and his success depends 
upon the support given him. 

In accordance with the system of car distribution, 
the shipper must order the cars he requires from the 
agent at the station where he will load. The agent, at 
the usual hour each day, will order the cars from his 
Chief Dispatcher. In case the Chief Dispatcher is' un- 
able to furnish all of the cars ordered from his district, 
he calls upon the Superintendent of Transportation 
to help him from other divisions or sources'. Hence, 
a shipper cannot order cars direct from the Superin- 
tendent of Transportation, or from the Chief Dis- 



84 RAILWAY ORGANIZATION AND WORKING 

patcher, without creating confusion. If the Superin- 
tendent of Transportation accepted an order of that 
kind, and directed the Superintendent to take care of it, 
the latter might order the cars to> the station direct; 
but when they reached there the agent would know 
nothing about the order. He would ask the Chief Dis- 
patcher what the cars were sent for. The Chief Dis- 
patcher, not knowing about the order, would no doubt 
instruct the agent to bill them and send them on to some 
other point where he knew they were required. Had 
the order been transmitted through the proper channel, 
when the cars reached the station, the agent would 
know all the facts connected with it, and there would be 
no hitch in taking care of the shipment. 

The commodities to be moved, and their seasons for 
shipment, must be carefully watched. The condition 
of the crops as they mature, and the prospects for 
marketing them, must likewise be closely studied. On 
the Illinois Central, for example, we know that fruit 
and vegetables begin to move in refrigerator-cars from 
Louisiana points the latter part of March, and keep 
gradually increasing in volume as the shipping terri- 
tory expands, until by the middle of June we are load- 
ing fruit and vegetables all the way from New Orleans 
as far north as Centralia, 111. — a territory of over seven 
hundred miles. To know what the requirements will 
be, it is necessary for the Car Distributor to get reports 
of the condition of the crops as they progress, and of 
the acreage planted. Frost may kill the tomato or 
peach crop, in which case he must make his deductions' 
in figuring on the supply of equipment necessary to 



CAR CONSTRUCTION 85 

take care of it, in order to prevent hauling" more refri- 
gerator-cars into that section than are actually required 
for the business; thereby avoiding the return of empty 
cars, which involves an enormous unnecessary expense. 

There are other factors to consider, in addition to 
the maturing of the crop. The market price may be 
extremely low, in which case the grain will not move in 
such volume as it would if the price were high. The 
shippers who can afford to store it will naturally do so 
until the market is favorable. Again, the size of the 
grain crop is' not an indication as to> the volume that will 
move to early market. The crop of the preceding 
year may have been very poor. In that event a good 
portion of the present year's crop will be held over for 
the following year, for feeding and other local con- 
sumption, by reason of the supply having been exhaust- 
ed during the current summer. 

The importance of a uniform system ,in doing work 
of this kind, which is more or less complicated, and the 
advantage of a simple method or system, cannot be too 
strongly emphasized. Let us take the loading of to- 
matoes, for example. At Crystal Springs, Miss. — a 
town of 1 100 people — we are to load a maximum of 
forty-five carloads of tomatoes in one day. The refri- 
gerator-cars, after having been iced, are placed on long 
loading-tracks. The men who receive the tomatoes 
from the farmers divide the cars before any loading is 
done, by placing flags in the car doors. A white flag 
indicates that the teams having green, or unripe, toma- 
toes are to bring them to that car ; a red flag denotes' 
that those having ripe tomatoes are to unload them in 



S6 RAILWAY ORGANIZATION AND WORKING 

that car ; and a half-red and half- white flag means that 
the medium-ripe tomatoes are to go to that car. In 
this way the teamsters have no> trouble whatever in 
lining up for the proper car, the tomatoes having been 
sorted in the fields before being loaded on the wagons. 
The object of loading them in this manner is to enable 
the shipper to route the green product to the most dis- 
tant point, and the ripe product to the nearest market. 
If a car was loaded with half ripe and half green 
tomatoes, and shipped to> a reasonable distance, the 
chances are that the ripe tomatoes would age and decay 
in transit, and long before the green tomatoes were in a 
marketable condition. I cite this' simply to> show what 
good results may be obtained by some plain, simple 
system. This principle of a uniform system is at the 
foundation of the successful operation of railroads as 
well as of other large corporations. 

The distribution of coal-cars is, as a rule, very diffi- 
cult, the mines, located on branches and spur-tracks, 
being badly scattered. The supply of empty coal-cars 
comes principally from the large manufacturing centers, 
where the coal is' consumed, and in order to afford the 
mines in the various localities' their equal proportions 
of the cars, it is necessary to keep in close touch with 
the movement of the empty cars in different directions. 
It is impossible for the men in charge of large ter- 
minals, like Chicago and St. Louis, to notify the Car 
Distributor at three, four, or five o'clock in the after- 
noon how many empty coal-cars they will be able to 
forward between six in the afternoon and six the fol- 
lowing morning. The Distributor is, therefore, unable 



CAR CONSTRUCTION 87 

to instruct the Superintendent or the Dispatcher how 
to divide, between his own and other divisions, the 
equipment he receives during the night. Consequently, 
the Distributor places an arbitrary distribution order on 
the percentage basis; for instance: 25 per cent, 
to Bloomington District, 25 per cent, to Springfield 
District, 30 per cent, to Chicago District, 20 per cent, 
to Champaign District; this order being in effect dur- 
ing the night. During the day, when it is possible to 
keep in closer touch with the forwarding of empty 
cars, they are distributed by train lots', or a given num- 
ber of cars. 

It is also the duty of the Car Distributor, Dispatcher, 
agent, conductor, and all concerned in the distribution 
and furnishing of cars, to see that large-capacity cars' 
are furnished for shipments that will load to< the ca- 
pacity of the car, and that small, light cars are furnished 
for the light traffic. For example, it is not good policy 
to furnish an 80,000 pounds' capacity box-car to handle 
6,000 or 7,000 pounds of merchandise, when it is just 
as easy to furnish a 40,000 pounds' capacity car. 
Neither is it good practice to> furnish two 40,000 
pounds' capacity box-cars for shipment of grain, when 
the shipment could have been loaded into one 80,000 
pounds' capacity car. It is more difficult to haul the 
two than the one, and, in addition, they occupy double 
track-room in yards, and also entail double the switch- 
ing expense on terminals. 

The Car Distributor must keep in touch with the 
repairs to cars, in order that he may get the class of 
equipment which he requires for immediate use — i. e., 



88 RAILWAY ORGANIZATION AND WORKING 

box-, stock-, coal-, and refrigerator-cars — given pref- 
erence on the repair tracks' over the class of car which 
he does not so require. He should also keep informed 
as to the location of his cars on the tracks of foreign 
roads, so as to* prevent too many of them getting into 
fields where they will be tied up and delayed. This in- 
formation is furnished him from the car-record room. 
Each railroad car in existence bears the initials' of 
the road owning it, and an individual number which 
remains with the car from the day it is built to the day 
it is destroyed. Railroads exchange information show- 
ing the disposition of each other's cars. For example, 
the Illinois Central loads ten cars at Omaha for Boston. 
When the ten cars are delivered to the Lake Shore & 
Michigan Southern at Chicago', the agent of the Illinois 
Central at this point makes a report to the Car Account- 
ant of his own road, showing the initial and number of 
each of the ten cars, the date they were delivered to the 
Lake Shore, their contents, and their destination. When 
the Lake Shore delivers the ten cars to the New York 
Central at Buffalo', it mails to the Car Accountant of 
the Ilinois Central — because they are Illinois Central 
cars — a postal card giving the number of each car and 
date they were delivered to the New York Central. The 
New York Central, in turn, furnishes similar informa- 
tion, showing the date the cars were delivered to< its 
connections. In addition to furnishing information 
showing the present location of the cars', this system 
also enables the owner to check their per-diem earn- 
ings. When the record shows that a connecting line 
has a great many more of our cars than we have of 



CAR DISTRIBUTION 89 

theirs, the Car Distributor makes extraordinary efforts 
to get that connection to furnish us more of their cars, 
in order to protect loading originating on our line des- 
tined to points on theirs. This is especially true during 
the busy season, when there is a shortage of cars. 

THE HANDLING OF MANIFEST FAST FREIGHT 

In explaining the system of supervising the move- 
ments of cars' loaded with high-class freight, or "fast 
freight," the accompanying model board may be of 
service. In the first place, it is necessary to define what 
is meant by "fast freight" and what commodities are 
considered "fast freight" and eligible for movement in 
"fast freight" trains. Each agent is provided with a 
small book of instructions covering the use of the 
blanks and the reports, and also showing the commodi- 
ties eligible »for movement in "fast freight" trains, and 
the commodities eligible for movement in "time freight" 
trains. For instance, perishable goods — such as meats, 
dairy products, merchandise, etc. — are "fast freight;" 
sugar, rice, coffee, and machinery are "time freight." 

"Manifest freight" moves on a train scheduled at 
approximately twenty miles per hour; "time freight," 
on a train scheduled at about twelve miles per hour. 
The tonnage that the engine can haul on "manifest" 
trains at twenty miles per hour is about 30 per cent, less 
than the tonnage which the same engine can haul of 
"time freight" scheduled at twelve miles per hour, on 
account of the higher rate of speed ; hence, it is more 
expensive to transport these high-class commodities 
than the lower grades of freight. For instance, the 




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CAR DISTRIBUTION 91 

agent at New Orleans loads' a car of sugar for Chicago, 
also a car of potatoes for the same point. In billing the 
car of sugar, he takes the "time freight" waybill, print- 
ed in blue, and uses it to carry the car through to Chi- 
cago. On the car of potatoes he will use the "mani- 
fest fast freight" waybill, printed in red. If he also 
loaded a car of lumber, grain, coal, or other low-grade 
commodity, he would bill it on the ordinary waybill, and 
would use neither the "time freight" nor the "fast 
freight" waybill for it, as such commodities are not 
eligible for billing under the "fast freight" system of 
movement, in either of the above designated classes of 
trains, except where they are used to' fill out such trains 
in the absence of sufficient of their assigned commodi- 
ties. 

In addition to' these waybills, the yard clerk places 
a small card on the side of the "fast freight" and "time 
freight" cars'. On the "fast freight" car the card used 
is printed in red, the same as the waybill ; on the "time 
freight" cars the card is printed in blue, as is the case 
with the waybill. 

This separate waybill for each car is used in order to 
give to each car an individual identity and rights in 
the train. Thus, in case the car is set out at any point, 
the waybill must be left with the agent at the station 
where the car is set out, and its peculiar construction 
and color will immediately call his attention to the fact 
that it is an important shipment which must not be de- 
layed. If the agent fails to notice the importance of the 
shipment from the waybill in the rack, the yard master, 



92 RAILWAY ORGANIZATION AND WORKING 

or switchmen, in going through the yard will locate 
the car by the card on its side. 

Again, should a car billed "manifest freight" reach 
the end of a district, and the yard master fail to' put it 
into the proper train to< take it beyond, the clerk giving 
out the bills to conductors would discover the error of 
the yard master, by noticing this particular waybill, 
with its peculiar form of identification, in the rack, 
after giving the conductor all the bills he called for. 
He would then call the yard master's attention to' his 
error, and possibly succeed in getting the car into the 
proper train before its departure, thereby avoiding a 
delay to' the shipment and, later on, an investigation. 

In this, as in every other branch of the service, sys- 
tem is at the foundation. By making the envelope for 
this waybill of a special size, by printing the waybill in 
red or blue, and by carding the car with the plain letter 
M, printed in red or blue, a particular identity is given 
it. Thus also anyone handling such car is notified 
that it should receive special attention. If no card 
were put on it, and the waybill were the common way- 
bill used by railroads, only with a notation on the face 
or in the corner of it to the effect that it was "manifest 
freight" or "time freight," then we should not be as- 
sisting the switching crews, yard masters, agents, and 
conductors, in handling the cars as they should be 
handled or as we desire, and we should be creating 
openings for delays', instead of guarding against and 
preventing them. 

After these high-class cars have been loaded at the 
house, or on team tracks, the bill clerks make up the 



CAR DISTRIBUTION 93 

special waybills, filling out the blanks for "Station 
from," "To," "Contents," and "Consignee." The let- 
ter in the small diamond and the manifest number are 
not put on the bill until the train is made up and ready 
to go forward. For example, on the Illinois Central 
Railroad all the high-class commodities for the East 
from the terminal or adjacent points are assembled in 
the shaping-up yards at Chicago during the day and 
evening, then switched together into- the proper assign- 
ed trains, and when the train is made up, the waybills 
are passed to the yard clerk, who> sorts them out so that 
the car in the train destined for the nearest point will 
receive the lowest waybill number. For instance, we 
have in this train, say, one car for Cleveland, one car 
for Buffalo, one car for Albany, and twenty-seven cars 
for New York. The waybill for the car destined for 
Cleveland is the first, for Buffalo' the second, etc., so 
that, when the car for waybill No. i is left at Cleveland, 
the agent can report its receipt without disturbing the 
consecutive numbering of the remainder of the way- 
bills. After the yard clerk at Chicago has numbered 
these waybills, he makes his report on a "Form 35," 
which shows the manifest number assigned ; e. g. : No. 
1 for Illinois Central car 52480, destined for Cleve- 
land, with butter and eggs; No. 2 for car destined for 
Buffalo; No. 3 for car destined for Albany; and Nos. 4 
to 30, consecutively, for cars destined for New York. 
The yard clerk then sends this report to the Superin- 
tendent of Transportation, in whose office the board is 
located. The man in charge of the board takes a train 
block, marked, say, 51, that being the number of the 



94 RAILWAY ORGANIZATION AND WORKING 



train. He takes Chicago's pegs numbered i to' 30 and 
inserts them in this train block. Under peg No. 1 he 
puts the letter D, which shows it is destined for Cleve- 
land. Under peg No. 2 he puts the letter B, which is 
Buffalo's cipher, showing the car to be destined for 
Buffalo', from Chicago 1 . Under the next peg he places 
the letter A, which signifies Albany. Under the rest is 
the letter N, or New York's cipher. 



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This block, or train, when made up after this fashion, 
is placed on the hook (on the board) between Chicago 
and Cleveland for trains moving in the eastbound di- 
rection. When our train reaches Elkhart, the yard 



CAR DISTRIBUTION 95 

clerk takes the waybills, runs through them, and finds 
that they are numbered consecutively from I to 30. He 
then reports by telegraph to' the Superintendent of 
Transportation : 

Manifest C-i to C-30, arrived 2 :oo a. m., left at 2 -.30 a. m. 

Upon receipt of this No. 37 report, the man in charge of 
the board checks it against the train and finds it is O. K. 
He then passes the train block from the district Chi- 
cago to Elkhart over to the district Elkhart toi Toledo, 
and puts this report in the drawer under the station 
named Elkhart, so that, in case he wishes to locate any 
particular car in the train, he refers to the No. 35 report 
from the agent at Chicago showing the manifest num- 
ber assigned the individual car; and then, by referring 
to the Elkhart drawer, he can determine the time it 
arrived and left that point. In this manner the actual 
location of a car within two or three hours can be 
readily ascertained without further inquiries, making 
it a very valuable system for patrons of roads using it. 

On the arrival of the train at Cleveland, the agent 
will report on the Form 37 as follows: 

Manifest C-i arrived at 5:00 p. m. 

leaving blank the forwarding column, for the reason 
that the car is destined for Cleveland and does not go 
forward. He next shows 

Manifest C-2 to C-30, arrived at 5 :oo p. m., left at 5 130 p. m. 

At Cleveland the yard master adds five additional cars 
to the train. He telegraphs the Superintendent of 
Transportation the manifest number assigned each of 
these cars, the initial and number, and destination, on 



96 RAILWAY ORGANIZATION AND WORKING 

the No. 35 report, as was done at Chicago-. The clerk 
in charge of the board, upon receipt of this No. 35 
report, places in this same train Cleveland's manifest 
pegs numbered 1 to 5, or 51 to- 56, as the case may be, 
with the proper destination pegs under them. 

When the train arrives at Buffalo, the agent at that 
point will report: 

Manifest C-2, arrived at 3 :oo a. m 

that being the car from Chicago for Buffalo 1 ; 

Manifest C-3 to C-30, arrived at 3 :oo a. m., left at 3 130 a. m. 
Manifest D-51 to D-56, arrived at 3 :oo a. m., left at 3 130 a. m. 

the last five being the Cleveland cars, D } being Cleve- 
land's initial. 

In case one of these cars was damaged or rendered 
unsafe for movement in the train at Laporte, Ind., and 
it was necessary to< set it out at that point for repairs, 
the conductor in charge of the train, when leaving the 
waybill for the car, is obliged to telegraph the Train 
Master in charge of the district between Chicago and 
Laporte, and also- the Superintendent of Transporta- 
tion (Form 38), to the effect that he 

Set out Manifest C-n at Laporte on account of rough journal 
(or for any other cause). 

When setting the car out, the conductor leaves with the 
agent at Laporte this manifest waybill for C-n. The 
man in charge of the board will, on receipt of this 
notice, take peg No. C-i 1 out of the train and insert 
it in one of the small holes opposite Laporte station 
by running it through the paper telegraph notice, the 
peg in the hole serving the same purpose as if the tele- 



CAR DISTRIBUTION 97 

graphic advice was held on the board with nail or pin. 
This, of course, shows that there is a car of "fast 
freight," destined for New York, set out at Laporte. 

In case the conductor forgets or fails to give this 
notice to the Train Master and Superintendent of 
Transportation, on the arrival of the train at Elkhart 
the yard clerk finds that he has all of the waybills con- 
secutively numbered, i to 30, except manifest C-11. 
He therefore makes his report as follows : 

Manifest C-i to C-10, arrived at 2 :oo a. m., left at 2 130 a. m. 

Manifest C-12 to C-30, arrived at 2 :oo a. m., left at 2 130 a. m. 

This' naturally shows that the car for waybill C-i 1 did 
not reach Elkhart, although it left Chicago in that train. 
The man in charge of the board will then take peg No. 
C-i 1 out of the train block and insert it in any station 
on that district with a blank report attached to it, show- 
ing that the car was set out of the train at some point 
which he is unable to determine; and he immediately 
wires the Train Master to have the conductor state 
where he left it. It then becomes the duty of the Train 
Master to get this information, and also to have the car 
repaired and moved in some slow freight train through 
to Elkhart during the next twenty- four hours', in order 
that it may be placed in Train 51 when that train is 
made up the following morning, and avoid stopping the 
"fast freight" train at Laporte to pick it up. 

It will be seen that, by giving to each car an indi- 
vidual waybill and number, such car secures a separate 
and distinct identity, and is surrounded by checks ; and 
also that, if the conductor should fail to report the set- 
ting-out of a car, the man in charge of the board will 



08 RAILWAY ORGANIZATION AND WORKING 

immediately detect it, and prevent any unnecessary de- 
lay to the shipment by notifying the Train Master to 
look it up. If it were not for this' individual check, the 
car would be overlooked and possibly remain sidetrack- 
ed for a week, until some heavy damage claim resulted, 
which in turn would involve the conductor, and also the 
agent, in trouble for their failure to make a proper 
report. In other words, the object of the system is to 
prevent damage, and consequent loss, by forestalling 
delays instead of locating them after the damage has 
occurred. 

The system is' also' intended to> check the movement 
of trains over the different districts, for the purpose of 
seeing that they make their running time, and to> locate 
the districts' or the terminal points where they fail to 
run up to their schedule. 



THE PROBLEM OF CAR SERVICE 

WALTER E. BEECHAM, CAR ACCOUNTANT, CHICAGO, 
MILWAUKEE & ST. PAUL RAILWAY 

The field of car service is the only one within the 
domain of railroad affairs that has' not been thoroughly 
prospected for the introduction of economies, probably 
because of its vast extent and undefinable limits, and 
also by reason of the fact that it presents, at the 
threshold of endeavor, so many difficulties, perplexities 
and uncertainties that no one has had the courage to 
undertake a task of such great magnitude. 

In all other branches of the service the cost of opera- 
tion down to a scientific minimum is pretty well known ; 
but no one can say how much might be saved, or how 
largely the earnings of railroads might be increased, 
if cars were handled economically, judiciously, and 
expeditiously. Scattered, as they are, over a vast 
expanse of territory, and hidden away on thousands of 
side-tracks in large terminals, it is' not possible, with 
the facilities at the command of the roads, to exercise 
the close supervision over them which the enormous 
value of their use to their owners' and the public alike 
imperatively demands. 

Taking as an object-lesson, for the purpose of this 
paper, the Chicago terminals, in which twenty-five rail- 
roads and belt lines converge — beginning at South 
Chicago on the Calumet River, fourteen miles in a 
southeasterly direction from the Courthouse, and run- 
ning westward to the tracks of the Chicago Belt, thence 

99 

Lore. 



ioo RAILWAY ORGANIZATION AND WORKING 

north to Cragin and Galewood on the St. Paul, thence 
in a northeasterly direction to Evanston, embracing a 
radius of twenty-five miles within the switching limits, 
a vast territory in which thousands of cars' are seen 
every day — we get a pretty fair conception of the mag- 
nitude of the proposition which confronts the railroads, 
and we realize how inefficient are the arrangements of 
today for successfully dealing with it. 

The first and most serious difficulty met with, in 
considering the question, is the lack of information 
relative to the car situation in these large terminals, 
and how utterly inefficient are the means for gathering 
it. The next difficulty, nearly equal in importance, is 
the lack of co-operation on the part of the railroads 
themselves'. I want to record my belief at this time 
that before any real reforms can be inaugurated in 
common terminals, the seat of 95 per cent, of the 
trouble, the railroads must place their switching power 
under the direction of a joint Superintendent of Ter- 
minals, representing all interests; and, further, the 
facilities' for keeping in touch with the situation every 
hour in the day and every minute in the hour must be 
such as to' meet the requirements. As it now is, the 
means of communication between railroads are inade- 
quate to the demands ; and before this difficulty can be 
remedied, a telephone exchange and ample telephone 
wires, assigned to this exclusive use, must be instituted. 
It is a self-evident truth that a railroad is no railroad 
without terminals, and it is equally true that, without 
close co-operation, the best results of operation in 
common terminals can never be obtained. 



THE PROBLEM OF CAR SERVICE 101 

There are in the United States' and Canada, in round 
numbers, two million freight-cars, representing an 
investment of one billion dollars' in rapidly depreciating 
property. How to make each and every one of this 
vast multitude of cars render to its owner the fullest 
possible measure of service in its money-earning 
capacity is an undertaking worthy of the brains, genius, 
and energy of this great and unapproachably mag- 
nificent country — a land of unknown and unimaginable 
possibilities, fraught with so many promises of certain 
reward and material prosperity for those who have the 
courage and ability to take advantage of their oppor- 
tunities, and perseverance to follow any occupation 
successfully. 

It is asserted, with statistical accuracy, that there are 
in existence at this time enough freight-cars to pro- 
vide amply for all the requirements of traffic conditions 
for some time to come, if they were properly distrib- 
uted, and promptly and efficiently handled ; but, never- 
theless, no such shortage of cars has been experienced 
in this country in any previous years as the railroads 
now have to contend with. I do not want to be under- 
stood as unqualifiedly indorsing the proposition that 
there are cars enough for the prompt movement of all 
the traffic that is offered in any one day, or in any one 
week or month; and I doubt very much if it was 
intended to be thus' interpreted, because that would be 
unreasonable. In the first place, if there were cars 
enough, they could not be handled ; in the second place, 
if they could be loaded and moved promptly, the rush 
of traffic to common centers would be so great as in a 



102 RAILWAY ORGANIZATION AND WORKING 

short time to^ block every railroad centering therein; 
and, again, it would be utterly impossible to find mar- 
kets or storage for the products' of the factory and farm. 
But I am inclined to the opinion that there are cars 
enough to< provide for the actual needs and reasonable 
requirements of the present day, if they could be 
brought under proper and efficient control and employed 
to the best advantage. However, the magnitude and 
extent of railroad operations in this country make this 
a proposition of such bewildering possibilities and 
uncertainties, as well as of financial risks, that those 
responsible for the results of operation cannot at this 
time see their way clear to the adoption of the only 
scheme that is thought to hold out any hope or promise 
of solving the problems of car service, or of removing 
the evils that beset car supply. 

It is an exceedingly difficult undertaking toi explain 
many of the causes which contribute to' the car short- 
age that annually afflicts the railways, because of the 
ever-changing conditions, and for the reason that they 
are general instead of local. Besides, our means of 
gathering information concerning the car situation, 
even from a local point of view, are very crude, inade- 
quate, and unreliable. There is at the present time 
absolutely no> way of telling where all the cars are, and, 
until we are able to do that, we cannot exercise as close 
supervision over them as' is necessary in order properly 
to employ them. 

Strange as it may appear, what supervision the roads 
have over their own cars does not extend beyond the 
owners' rails. Under the present practice, when a car 



THE PROBLEM OF CAR SERVICE 103 

leaves the home road, it passes under the jurisdiction of 
another, and may not return to the owner's service for 
months and even years. There is a sort of understand- 
ing that a car belongs to the road that owns it, not to 
any road that happens to get possession of it, and there 
is some kind of agreement between the railroads that 
requires cars to be returned to the owners with reason- 
able dispatch — an agreement which is religiously lived 
up to when cars are not greatly in demand, but not very 
scrupulously observed when the demand is greater than 
the visible supply. Generally speaking, it is more 
honored in the breach than in the observance, and it 
quite frequently happens that cars are not returned to 
the owners until they are unfit for further service. 

This is not altogether the result of retaining the cars 
in local service on any one line. They drift from one 
road to another, and travel from Maine to California, 
and from the line of the Canadian Pacific to* the South- 
ern extremity of the state of Florida, without once 
touching the home line for long periods of time. We 
chase them by wire and by letter, but without result. 
The wanderers refuse to return to the fold. 

This is not a satisfactory condition of affairs and, 
in my judgment, is not a good thing for the railroads 
as a general proposition, but it is one of the almost 
insurmountable difficulties that confront us in handling 
cars'. 

Previous to July, 1902, it was the practice to pay 
mileage for the use of cars belonging to> other roads. 
The rate in the early seventies was one and a half cents 
per mile run loaded, and nothing for empty mileage. 



104 RAILWAY ORGANIZATION AND WORKING 

Later this was changed to three- fourths' of a cent per 
mile, loaded and empty ; and, again, to' 6 mills per mile 
loaded and empty ; at which latter figure it remained up 
to July, 1902, when the per-diem plan was adopted, 
and the rate for a freight car was fixed at 20 cents per 
day, with a penalty o<f 80 cents in addition, for retaining 
possession of a car belonging to another road over 
thirty days'. 

The per-diem proposition was first publicly advo- 
cated in 1876 by Mr. J. T. Rigney, of the Baltimore 
& Ohio Railroad, in the first Car Accountants' Conven- 
tion, held at Cleveland, Ohio*. Mr. Rigney was not 
taken seriously at the time, because the idea was not 
considered practicable; but, as' time went by, and the 
evils of the mileage plan became more and more appar- 
ent, the need of a change was more keenly felt, and the 
per-diem plan was adopted. The strongest advocates of 
this plan not only contended, and very reasonably so, 
that the per-diem basis' was the only true one for set- 
tling car-hire accounts, but they went still farther and 
asserted, with just as much confidence, that, if per 
diem were adopted, it would accelerate the return move- 
ments of cars to the owners and very perceptibly 
increase the supply of cars on all roads. 

These expectations have, however, not been fulfilled, 
save in the first few months after the plan was 
inaugurated. At that time it was an experiment. No 
one could confidently predict the result, and while 20 
cents per day was little enough for a freight-car as an 
abstract proposition, it was readily seen that the large 
number of foreign cars that were in the possession of 



THE PROBLEM OF CAR SERVICE 105 

non-owners at all times would make payments on 
account of car hire amount in the aggregate to very 
large sums of money. Hence an effort was made to 
hurry the cars back to their owners, with the result that 
we had a more plentiful supply of cars than usual at 
that time of year; in fact, it was difficult for some lines 
to find storage room for them, but that was' at a time 
when cars were not very much in demand, and no road 
could afford to hold them even at the low rate of 20 
cents per day, because they were not earning anything, 
mostly standing idle on the side-tracks. After the 
roads had recovered from their fright, however, and 
had fully realized that the interchange of cars was 
nearly even, and that consequently balances for car hire 
would not be very materially altered whether the rate 
was 20 cents or 20 dollars per day, they soon fell back 
into the old way of handling them; except, perhaps, 
that they were a little more particular to see that foreign 
cars did not stand idle on the side-tracks, or were not 
retained in possession when there was no use for them. 
In other words, the roads very generously surrendered 
possession of a foreign car if they had no use for it; 
and that seems to be about the size of the situation at 
the present day. Upon reflection, it will readily be 
seen that it could not be otherwise, and that all the fault 
for such a state of affairs rests with the railroads them- 
selves, which have always rated their individual inter- 
ests higher than their mutual interests, and have been 
ever ready to< sacrifice the latter for the former, when- 
ever deemed necessary or expedient or politic, under 
the plea that self-preservation is the first law of nature. 



106 RAILWAY ORGANIZATION AND WORKING 

albeit forgetting entirely that in unity there is strength. 

If the railroads were not engaged in handling inter- 
state commerce, this policy would undoubtedly be the 
true one, as in that event there would be no mutual in- 
terests in which the equipment was involved ; but inter- 
state commerce forces the railroads to interchange cars' 
whether they desire to' do so or not. It has no regard 
for the wishes of the railroads with respect to the use 
to be made of their equipment, and distributes cars 
throughout the length and breadth of the land without 
reference to' what the railroads may or may not think 
about it. 

It seems to me that this condition of affairs, which it 
is beyond the ability of the railroads to change, can be 
met and successfully combated only by united action. 
When cars are drifting with the flow of traffic, in large 
numbers in one direction, it is impossible to wait for 
the return tide to> drift them back again. Steps must 
be taken, therefore, to force them back against the pre- 
vailing tide; otherwise they will as naturally drift with 
it into all parts of the Union, as a stone, thrown into 
the air, obeys the law of gravitation and returns to* the 
earth. There is only one way in which this' can be 
accomplished, and that is by placing the distribution of 
equipment, as among railroads, in the hands of an 
organization especially adapted to that line of work — 
an organization which not only will be representative 
of mutual interests, but will be endowed with sufficient 
authority to enforce its mandates upon all concerned, 
with impartiality and equity, and without fear or favor, 
in a manner similar to that in which the distribution is 



THE PROBLEM OF CAR SERVICE 107 

now supervised on any of the large systems. That there 
is abundant precedent for believing that such a plan 
as this would be successful, one has' only to< investigate 
the results that have attended the consolidation of 
several large systems' in recent years. 

Take the Pennsylvania Lines, for example, which 
own and control more freight-cars than would be 
included in a pool of equipment embracing the North- 
Western, Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul, and Burling- 
ton lines; or, say, between 160,000 and 175,00 freight- 
cars of all kinds'. Will anyone undertake to say that 
this vast equipment cannot be more economically em- 
ployed, efficiently distributed, and promptly handled 
under one management than under two' or more differ- 
ent managements, each one working independently of 
the other and permitting its selfish interests to blind 
its' eyes to< the common good? Has it not been dem- 
onstrated time and again, in many ways, that it is 
necessary to put the distribution of equipment in the 
hands of one man, even on such a system as the St. 
Paul, in order to protect the requirements of its several 
divisions? And why? Simply because the out-bound 
from some divisions is so much greater than the in- 
bound that it is necessary to keep them constantly sup- 
plied with empty cars, as otherwise they would go out 
of business' for the want of cars to* load. 

At a recent meeting of car-service officers, held in 
Chicago, I read a paper on this subject, and one of the 
members, in commenting thereon, wanted to know 
what we would do when there were no cars to dis- 
tribute. I told him that such a condition would never 



108 RAILWAY ORGANIZATION AND WORKING 

exist; that there would always be cars to distribute; 
that there must be cars to distribute, whether there were 
or not — paradoxical as that may appear. This' reminds 
me of an incident that occurred many years ago. The 
General Manager of the St. Paul road — a man of won- 
derful energy and strong character, but of very explo- 
sive temperament, which was liable to< blow up at any 
time and in unexpected places — ordered a Train Dis- 
patcher to> send some empty flat cars' to Bay View for 
rails'. The Train Dispatcher answered that he could 
not, as he did not have the cars. The General Manager 
replied, in tones that none of us ever mistook : ' 'Don't 
you tell me you cannot send cars when or where I tell 
you to;" and he walked out of* the Train Dispatcher's 
office. It is needless to> say that the cars were promptly 
sent. 

The evils that afflict the car supply are principally 
due to> a lack of co-operation on the part of the railroads, 
and to delays in common terminals. It is at this latter 
point that reforms must begin; and perhaps the first 
step will be the pooling of the switching power. But 
as this subject leads me away from my theme, I will 
not pursue it any further at this time. 

Two' of the best examples of the proper management 
of equipment are offered by the Pullman Company and 
the Armour car lines. The cars of the Pullman Com- 
pany are distributed all over the United States and 
Canada, and are managed with consummate skill from 
the general offices in Chicago. This is passenger 
service, it is true, but the principle involved is the same. 
The Armour car lines' management is above criticism 



THE PROBLEM OF CAR SERVICE 109 

from an operating view-point — nay, it is more than 
that, it is superb and incomparably superior to anything 
of a like nature. They own the cars and a large share 
of the product carried, and thereby enjoy exceptional 
conditions ; but I am speaking now from my knowledge 
of the handling and maintenance of the equipment, and 
the methods of supervision employed, both from a 
mechanical and from an operating point of view. Their 
relations to the public have been defined with excep- 
tional ability by Mr. J. Ogden Armour in a series of 
articles in the Saturday Evening Post, and need no 
defense at my hands. But I cannot, at this time, 
refrain from saying that I have no sympathy with the 
attacks now being made on corporations of all kinds. I 
consider that the private car lines now in existence fill 
a legitimate place in transportation affairs; and I pre- 
sume they were instituted for the purpose of gain. I 
have never known money to be invested in such enter- 
prises from purely philanthropic motives, or for sani- 
tary reasons', or for the good of the public health, or 
even because the investors were anxious to put money 
into circulation ; and those who have the brains, energy, 
and courage to organize, and the aptitude successfully 
to manage, such large affairs' are entitled to the rewards 
of material prosperity. I have no* sympathy with any 
attempt to get it away from them, except through the 
medium of barter and trade. 

One of the best showings made of the results under 
an equipment pool is to be found in the Railway Equip- 
ment Register for February, 1906. About a year and 
a half ago, the Union Pacific, Southern Pacific, Oregon 



no RAILWAY ORGANIZATION AND WORKING 

Short Line, and Oregon Railroad & Navigation Com- 
pany established a clearing-house for the purpose of 
pooling their equipment; and in the last annual report 
of tke Union Pacific Company appears the following 
comment as to the results attained : 

The clearing-house, put into effect this year by the companies 
for the common use of their rolling-stock, was an important factor 
in the excellent results attained by the Transportation Depart- 
ment. By this clearing-house system of distributing cars there 
was effected an increase of 1.60 cars in the average number of 
loaded cars per train, and also a gain of 1.55 per cent, in the per- 
centage of loaded freight-car mileage to total freight-car mile- 
age, representing a saving of about 5,726,992 empty car-miles. 

A recent issue of the Railroad Gazette presents some 
figures: obtained from Mr. J. Kruttschnitt, Director 
of Maintenance and Operation, showing the results 
under the clearing-house system, with comment thereon 
as follows : 



Year Ending June 30 



1904 



Increase or Decrease 



Per cent. 





LOADED FREIGHT CAR MILES 




Union Pacific System . . 
Southern Pacific Co. . . . 


269,763,446 
344,926,922 


240,405,820 
338,783,730 


Inc. 29,357,626 
Inc. 6,143,192 


12 
2 


Total 


614,690,368 


S79,l89,5SO 


Inc. 35,500,818 


6 







EMPTY FREIGHT CAR MILES 



Union Pacific System . . 
Southern Pacific Co. . . . 


99,719,947 
140,793,852 


96,008,791 
158,982,665 


Inc. 3,711,156 
Dec. 18,188,813 


4 
11 


Total 


240,513,799 


254,991,456 


Dec. 14,477.657 


6 






Grand total 


855,204,167 


834,181,006 


Inc. 21,023,161 


3 



THE PROBLEM OF CAR SERVICE 



in 





RATIO EMPTY CAR MILEAGE 






Union Pacific System . . 
Southern Pacific Co 


26.99 
28.99 


28.54 
31-94 


Dec. 1.55 
Dec. 2.95 


Total 


28.12 


30.57 


Dec. 2 . 45 









This illustrates in a striking way the great saving which has 
been made in movement of empty cars ; which means, of course, 
a consequent increased availability of equipment for securing 
loads. Had the 1904 ratio of empty mileage prevailed in 1905, the 
empty car-mileage would have amounted to 261,435,000 miles, or 
nearly 21,000,000 freight-car miles in excess of the actual figure. 
This saving is roughly equivalent to 500,000 freight-train miles; 
that is, the 1904 ratio would, with an average of 42 cars to a 
train, have required the running of 500,000 more freight-train 
miles. Since the close of the fiscal year covered by the table 
there has been especial opportunity for efficiency in handling 
equipment to be shown because of the unusually severe car short- 
age and the constant heavy demands on the equipment. In the 
four months ending October 31, 1905, the ratio of empty car haul 
was still further reduced 1.15 per cent, on the Union Pacific, and 
1. 19 per cent, on the Southern Pacific — an addition of nearly 
one-half to the saving in the fiscal year 1904-1905. Results as 
favorable as these speak for themselves for the success of the 
equipment clearing-house as a measure of operating efficiency. 

If a few railroads find the pooling of equipment so 
greatly to their advantage as this indicates, it is hard 
for the human mind to* estimate the beneficial results 
that might follow the pooling of equipment in general, 
and the placing of it under the sole charge and control 
of experienced car distributors. 

The general public looks upon pools of all kinds with 
alarm, and it is popularly believed that dark and damn- 
able conspiracies against the peace and good-will*of the 
commonwealth are concealed within their innermost 



112 RAILWAY ORGANIZATION AND WORKING 

recesses, and that they are stirred only with evil intent 
toward the people. But whatever of truth there may 
be in this does not apply to a car pool ; in fact, the idea 
suggested is only the culmination or completion of what 
is now almost a fact, and for which interstate commerce 
is responsible. 

Loaded cars' are pooled in handling interstate com- 
merce, whether railroads are agreeable to it or not. 
In fact, railroads could not operate without interchan- 
ging loaded equipment, or pooling it. My idea is to 
carry this a little farther and pool the empty equipment, 
or such cars as may be designated as the circulating 
medium of equipment — the standard box-cars — in 
order that the railroads may have it within their power 
to distribute the empty equipment to offset the distri- 
bution made by the shippers of the loaded equipment. 
If such an arrangement as this could be perfected, it 
would be necessary to divide the country into districts, 
so many roads to be embraced in one district, and to 
be under the charge of a district distributor. Then 
two or more general distributors, having jurisdiction 
over all, would have to be appointed, who would soon 
work out the necessary details for the successful 
operation of the plan. 



FREIGHT CLAIMS 

RALPH C. RICHARDS, GENERAL CLAIM AGENT, CHICAGO 
& NORTH-WESTERN RAILWAY 

When property is delivered to a railroad company 
or other common carrier for transportation, the carrier 
must transport it to its destination with reasonable dis- 
patch at the agreed or published rate, and deliver it to 
the consignee in the same condition as that in which it 
was received. If it fails so 1 to< do, it must pay the 
owner its value, if lost ; or compensate him for the dam- 
age, if any is done ; unless such failure is caused by the 
act of God or the public enemy. In some of the states 
this liability as an insurer continues after the property 
is unloaded at its destination from the cars into the 
warehouse and is ready for delivery, until the consignee 
has had a reasonable time — depending upon the cir- 
cumstances, but generally from twenty-four to twenty- 
eight hours — to call and remove his property. In other 
states — Illinois, for instance — the carrier's liability as 
an insurer ends as soon as the property has been un- 
loaded from the cars and is ready for delivery. After 
that time the carrier is liable only for loss of or 
damage to the property caused by its negligence; and. 
in order to recover, the owner must prove the 
negligence. 

Because of the failure of the carrier always to per- 
form this duty, claims are made against it for loss of 
the property which it fails to deliver, for damage to 

"3 



H4 RAILWAY ORGANIZATION AND WORKING 

articles which has occurred while they are in the posses- 
sion of the carrier, and for charges made in excess of 
the published or agreed rate. In ordinary railroad par- 
lance, claims arising from the first two causes are called 
"freight claims;" those arising from the latter are 
called "overcharge claims." The first class is the sub- 
ject of this paper. 

Generally speaking, claims of this nature are investi- 
gated and adjusted by an officer know as the Freight 
Claim Agent; but on some lines, usually the smaller 
ones, this investigation and adjustment are made by 
the General Freight Agent or Auditor ; on others, by 
the General Claim Agent, who> also has charge of the 
investigation and adjustment of personal-injury and 
other claims. The investigation is usually by corre- 
spondence. 

The duty of the Claim Officer is not only to investi- 
gate and adjust claims, but also to ascertain the cause 
of the losses, to recommend the adoption of proper 
measures for the safe and expeditious handling of 
traffic, thereby preventing losses and damages from oc- 
curring in the future, and to< educate the employees as 
to the rules and how the work should be done; or, in 
other words, to* stop the leaks. 

There are about 210,000 miles of railroad in the 
United States, employing nearly 1,300,000 men. For 
the year ending June 30, 1903 (the last year for which 
the Interstate Commerce Commission has published its 
report), there were transported 173,000,000,000 ton- 
miles of freight. I estimate that the number of claims 
presented to the different railroads during that year 



FREIGHT CLAIMS 115 

was 1,600,000 or 1,700,000 — about 8 per mile per an- 
num — costing the companies about $5 per claim, or an 
aggregate of $8,500,000 — about $40 per mile of road 
operated. This does not include the value of equipment 
and track damaged or destroyed in wrecks, in which 
part of the property for which claims are presented was 
damaged or destroyed, or the cost of picking up such 
wrecks, which would probably be about $2,500,000 
more; and I think a comparative estimate of the 
amount paid as wages to men engaged in investigating 
and adjusting such claims would be $850,000, or 50 
cents per claim; making the total cost $11,850,000, or 
nearly 1 per cent, of the freight earnings as reported 
by the Interstate Commerce Commission for that year, 
which were $1,338,000,000. 

Whether the business of carrying this immense ton- 
nage is profitable depends upon the cost of handling 
it. One of the items of cost is the amount paid out for 
loss and damage, which I estimate to have increased 
about 400 per cent, in the last seven years, while during 
the same period the freight earnings have increased 53 
per cent. If the other operating expenses had increased 
at the same ratio, there would have been not only no 
profit from operations, but an absolute loss. Conse- 
quently the matter of loss and damage claims, which 
previous to 1898 was a comparatively insignificant 
charge, has become, from its large increase a matter 
of anxiety to' the owners and managers of railroads, 
and the question of how to reduce that loss has 
lately been given attention and consideration. In 
order to reduce the charge, it is, of course, necessary 



Il6 RAILWAY ORGANIZATION AND WORKING 

to ascertain its cause; when that is known, the remedy 
ought to be easily determined and applied. While the 
ratio toi the total freight earnings the country over is 
about i per cent., it differs on different roads, for 
reasons which I shall try to' explain. 

Nearly all claims are adjusted or arranged in a 
manner satisfactory toi both the claimant and the car- 
rier, much less litigation resulting from them than one 
not acquainted with the business would suppose. On 
the line with which I am connected we had, during the 
year ending June 30, 1904, 58,146 freight claims and 
but 32 lawsuits, the ratio being so' small as to be not 
worth considering. Many claims — I think at least 
one-half of those presented on local shipments — are dis- 
posed of inside of a week after their presentation; 
indeed, a large portion of them are adjusted on the day 
of their presentation. Claims for loss or damage on 
shipments passing over two or more lines take longer 
to investigate, but I believe the average time taken to 
investigate and settle all claims is less than sixty days, 
although occasionally such claims are unreasonably 
delayed in adjustment, on account of the dilatory 
methods o>f claim officers, of the neglect of agents in 
answering and attending to correspondence, and of the 
failure of some of the companies to> provide a sufficient 
force to do the work promptly and properly. 

An association known as the Freight Claim Associa- 
tion, composed of nearly all the railroads and steamship 
companies of this country and Canada, has adopted a 
code of rules for the investigation and division of line 
claims, which has immensely improved methods here- 



FREIGHT CLAIMS 117 

tofore in vogue and greatly expedited the adjustment 
of claims. Where the members cannot agree upon such 
division, the matter is decided by an arbitration com- 
mittee elected each year by the members of the associa- 
tion, by whose decision all members are bound, 
although they have the right of appeal to another com- 
mittee — which right, however, is rarely exercised. 

The number of freight claims made against a carrier, 
like those for personal injuries, depends not so much 
upon its mileage or tons carried — which, of course, 
must be considered — as upon the kind and amount 
of traffic handled; the character of the people and the 
population of the country through which its lines run ; 
the class of men engaged in the carrier's service, and 
their familiarity with the rules; and the quantity and 
quality of supervision exercised over the employees. 
For instance, take one of the transcontinental roads, 
with freight earnings of about $36,000,000, whose busi- 
ness is largely in carload lots, which go through from 
shipping-points to destination without breaking bulk; 
its claims amount to about $70,000. Another line, 
operating both in the North and the South, with freight 
earnings' of about $31,000,000, whose business is 
largely in less than carload lots, which are frequently 
handled and transferred; having employees who are, 
perhaps, less prompt and careful than those wholly in 
the temperate latitudes : its claims cost about $500,000. 
A third road, operating in the northern and central 
tier of states, whose business is even more largely in 
package freight than the last-mentioned, with freight 
earnings of $38,000,000,, but which has, perhaps, a 



n8 RAILWAY ORGANIZATION AND WORKING 

higher grade of employees, and more and better super- 
vision, the communities tributary to' it being more con- 
servative and less litigious than those tributary to 
the second-mentioned road : its claims amount to $300,- 
000. These examples will, perhaps, serve to illustrate 
what I have just said about the reason for the difference 
in the number of freight claims on different systems. 

When property is received by a carrier, it should 
first be examined to see that it is properly crated to 
stand transportation, and marked with the name of the 
consignee and its destination, in accordance with the 
shipping directions; then a receipt or bill of lading 
should be issued for it. As this receipt is evidence of 
the contract and, like a note, is good for the value of 
the property it calls for, and the carrier must deliver 
the goods or pay for them, care should be taken to> make 
it correctly, and not only the name of the consignee 
and the destination of the property, but the number and 
condition of the packages and the rate, if one is agreed 
upon, should be shown. Subsequent to its receipt, a way- 
bill is made for the consignment, which should accom- 
pany it. Then it must be properly loaded in the car, 
transported, unloaded, delivered to the consignee or on 
his order, and a receipt taken for it. All of which 
sounds very easy and simple; but, because it is not 
always done, a loss or damage occurs, and, as a matter 
of course, a claim, follows. 

From an experience of many years in handling mat- 
ters of this kind, I have learned that a large amount 
of this annual loss is caused ( 1 ) by want of sufficient 
supervision; (2) by carelessness and thoughtlessness of 



FREIGHT CLAIMS 119 

employees; (3) by employees' lack of knowledge of 
and familiarity with the rules regulating the manner 
of handling the traffic, and failure to realize the result 
of non-compliance with the same; (4) by neglect on 
the part of shippers properly to> crate and mark the 
packages, which results not only in damage to the con- 
tents, but also in their failure to reach their proper 
destination. The part of the trouble which I shall dis- 
cuss is that mentioned under the second and third 
heads. By way of illustration, I shall cite some cases 
to show the result of such carelessness. They may be 
subdivided into the following heads : 

A. Receipting for more freight than is actually 
received, or receipting for the same in good condition 
when it is in bad order. — (a) An agent gives a receipt 
for ten packages of oranges without counting them; 
when the shipment reaches' its destination, there are only 
nine; a claim is presented for one short, and must be 
paid. (&) A shipper loads a car of butter, and presents 
a receipt to the agent which specifies 500 tubs of butter ; 
the agent does not check the consignment, and does not 
know whether there are 500 or 300 tubs in the car, 
and signs the receipt without making the notation 
"shipper's load and count;" the shipper takes the 
receipt, makes a draft on the consignee for the value of 
500 tubs of butter, and attaches the receipt to the draft, 
which is paid by the consignee ; the car reaches its desti- 
nation; the consignee presents the receipt for the 500 
tubs of butter ; there are only 300 tubs in the car, and 
the result is a claim for the value of the 200 tubs, which 
could have been avoided if the notation "shipper's load 



120 RAILWAY ORGANIZATION AND WORKING 

and count" had been put on the receipt, (c) An agent 
receipts for a lot of stoves or furniture in good order, 
when an examination would have shown that it was in 
bad order; the property reaches its destination; the 
consignee presents his good-order receipt; the stoves 
or furniture are damaged, and a claim is made, which 
would not have been done if the receipt had shown the 
condition of the goods. 

B. Waybilling freight to a wrong consignee or desti- 
nation. — (a) A car of household goods is shipped from 
Omaha to> Geneva, Nebr. ; the agent bills the car to 
Geneva, N. Y. ; the car goes to New York ; the owner, 
to Geneva, Nebr. ; the car is finally brought back ; the 
road whose agent made the mistake has to pay for the 
extra haul of the car, and allow something for the 
additional expense to which the owner of the goods 
was put while waiting to get them back from New 
York, (b) Twenty cases of shoes are shipped from 
Chicago to' Kankakee, consigned to John Smyth; they 
are billed to John Smith, and by mistake are delivered 
to' John Smith, who is dishonest and financially irre- 
sponsible; John Smyth presents his bill of lading, and 
the company responsible pays the claim ; it tries to col- 
lect the same of John Smith, but nine times out of ten 
fails. Both losses would have been avoided if, after 
the waybill was made, it had been compared with the 
shipping directions, as the error would have been dis- 
covered at that time and corrected; the rules require 
this to be done, but often it is not complied with. 

C. Loading freight in one car, but billing it in an- 
other. — A shipment of dry goods is billed in car 54569 ; 



FREIGHT CLAIMS 121 

it is loaded in car 5456; car 54569 reaches its destina- 
tion with the dry goods short; car 5456 goes to some 
connecting line, and the billing road never hears of the 
dry goods except in the way of a claim. 

D. Failure to see that all packages are marked with 
the name of the consignee and the destination. — A ship- 
ment of ten cases of fine machinery is made from Mil- 
waukee to Memphis ; nine of them are marked, one is 
not; the car goes through to Cairo, where it is trans- 
ferred ; the nine marked cases go to Memphis ; the other 
one, not being marked, is held over at Cairo; it is put 
away and forgotten; a claim is presented for the one 
short, which, of course, is the most valuable of the lot ; 
it cannot be found, and has to be paid for. If the rule 
requiring the marking of all packages had been com- 
plied with, the whole consignment in all probability 
would have reached its destination. 

E. Transferring freight carelessly. — A shipment of 
rugs and wedding presents is made from San Francisco 
to Washington ; it is carried from the shipping-point to 
Chicago, where it is checked short, although really in 
the car, and by mistake is put with another lot of house- 
hold goods, going to Newark, N. J., consigned to an- 
other consignee; it goes to Newark, and is sent to a 
warehouse with the other goods; a claim is presented 
for $1,200 or $1,500; it has to be, and is, found, and 
finally properly delivered. The mistake would have 
been avoided if a proper check had been made at trans- 
fer points, either in unloading the original car or in 
loading the shipment with which this consignment was 
by mistake mixed and loaded ; or if the contents of the 



122 RAILWAY ORGANIZATION AND WORKING 

car in which it was loaded had been properly checked 
at Newark. 

F. Improper loading and crating of freight, and 
rough handling of cars. — A type-setting machine, 
valued at $2,500, is shipped from Marinette to New 
York; it is not properly crated and is inse- 
curely loaded ; when it reaches its destination, it is not 
worth unloading ; a claim is presented for its value, and 
paid. This would have been avoided if the agent at 
the shipping-point had had the machine properly crated 
and put the expense on the waybill as advances, if the 
shipper declined to do the work ; or if he had take^n the 
trouble to' see that the machine was properly secured in 
the car; or if the trainmen had handled the car care- 
fully. 

G. Delivering freight to the wrong person or with- 
out an order from the consignee. — (a) A case of dry 
goods is billed to A. S. Peterson, but is delivered to A. 
E. Peterson; a claim is presented by A. S. Peterson, 
who holds the bill of lading, and it is paid ; A. E. Peter- 
son leaves within two days, and is heard from no> more. 
(b) A barrel of sugar is billed to C. S. Williams; it is 
delivered to a drayman, who claims he hauled it to 
Williams' store; Williams claims he did not receive 
the sugar and refuses to pay for it ; the shipper presents 
a claim ; the drayman did not have an order from Wil- 
liams to haul his freight ; it is unnecessary to say who 
pays for the sugar. 

H. Delivering "Order or Notify" freight or ship- 
ments for which a negotiable bill of lading is issued 
without requiring the surrender of the bill of lading. — 



FREIGHT CLAIMS 123 

A car of wheat is billed to the order of Armour & Co., 
notify John Jones; the delivery is made to Jones with- 
out his surrendering the bill of lading properly indorsed, 
which Armour has sent through a bank with a draft 
for the value of the wheat ; Jones, of course, after get- 
ting the wheat forgets to> pay the draft, and the carrier 
has to do so. 

The rules prohibit such deliveries as those described 
under F and G; but agents fail to comply, and loss 
thereby results. 

A freight claim is presented by the claimant direct 
to the Claim Officer of the carrier, or to the agent at the 
place where the claimant resides. When received at 
the Claim Office, it is immediately entered in a register 
kept for that purpose, given a number, and then exam- 
ined by the Claim Officer or his assistant. If sufficient 
information is furnished at that time, it is immediately 
disposed of; if additional information is necessary, the 
matter is given to an investigator for further inquiry. 
When the facts are ascertained^ the claim, if meritori- 
ous and reasonable, is paid, or, if not a just charge, 
declined. If the amount is deemed excessive — it is 
never too* low — that matter is negotiated, and some 
agreement or compromise is reached. Fortunately, in 
the very large majority of cases the amount is reason- 
able, being based on the invoice price of the merchan- 
dise lost, or, if damaged, by the cost of repair, with 
freight charges added. Generally the payment is made 
by the Claim Officer drawing a check for the amount 
and mailing it to the claimant, the check expressing on 
its face what it is for, and its indorsement acting as a 



124 RAILWAY ORGANIZATION AND WORKING 

receipt. Where line claims are paid, the carrier to 
whom the claim is presented makes the payment, and 
bills on the other carriers interested in the claim for 
their share of the loss or damage. Losses are divided 
according to the revenue which each carrier interested 
in the matter received; damages, according to* the 
mileage each carrier transported the property. 

I have attempted to explain briefly what freight 
claims are and their cause. I learn from men in this 
line of work in England, Scotland, and Canada that 
the railroads there are suffering to the same, if not to 
a greater, extent from the same trouble as we in this 
country. There always will be some losses and dam- 
ages as long as railroads are run by men, who 1 are 
pretty much the same everywhere; and the only thing 
we can do is to try to reduce them to the minimum. 
We all hope that they have reached the maximum, and 
that the pendulum will soon swing the other way. It 
is now doing so- on the Chicago & North- Western Rail- 
way, where we advertise to> have, and do have, "the 
best of everything." The following suggestions, if 
adopted, would, I think, help some in bringing about a 
reduction in claims' : 

i . As men are the important equation on a railroad, 
we want a new method of hiring them, so that we 
shall get the highest class that the wages paid and 
the chances of advancement in the service — which are 
great — will hire. To do* this, the railroads should have 
a bureau of employment, with a first-class man at the 
head, for the purpose of selecting the right man for the 
right place — a method or system under which at least 



FREIGHT CLAIMS 125 

as much care will be taken in the selection of men as is 
now taken, with such good results, in the selection of 
things, such as engines, cars, rails, etc. ; as, after all, 
men are, always have been, and always will be more 
important than things; and as the personal equation 
at the head of an institution goes a long way in making 
a success or failure of the enterprise, the same rule 
ought to work down as well as up. 

2. We want the right kind of rules regulating the 
handling of the traffic — the fewer and simpler the 
better. I think it was Longfellow who said : "In char- 
acter, in manner, in style, in all things, the supreme 
excellence is simplicity;" and that saying is as true 
about railroads and their rules as it is about everything 
else. 

3. We want some method of teaching the employees 
what those rules are, and of explaining to* them their 
necessity, and the result to the company, the patron, 
and the employee if they are not observed ; and, above 
all things, to impress on employees that, while it is 
no crime not to know all the rules and just what they 
ought to do under all circumstances, it ought to be a 
crime, when they do not know, not to ask someone who 
does, and learn before, not after, they act, as it takes 
less time to learn to do a thing right than it does to 
explain why you did it wrong. The present method 
of sending out half a dozen books of rules containing 
from 100 to 200 pages each, and expecting the employee 
to learn and understand them without such instruction, 
is not what it should be, and sooner or later — sooner 
I hope, for the good of all — will be changed. And that 



126 RAILWAY ORGANIZATION AND WORKING 

is one of the things that the University of Chicago, by 
this course of study, is helping to bring about, and 
which, if carried to its legitimate end, will result in 
great benefit both to the railroads and to their 
employees. 

4. We want more and better supervision — the kind 
that really supervises, and which should increase in 
quantity as well as in quality in at least the same pro- 
portion that the traffic does. Poor Richard said that 
"the eyes of the master will do more work than both 
his hands;" and that saying is just as true now as 
when Benjamin Franklin uttered it over a hundred 
years ago. 



SOME NOTES ON FREIGHT RATES 

The most obvious feature of railroading is that of 
physical operation — the movement of locomotives and 
cars, and the maintenance of equipment, roadbed, 
structures, and buildings'. It is not to be doubted that 
the management of these varied operations requires the 
greatest skill and the highest ingenuity in those who 
achieve success. The problems that have to* be faced 
are sometimes exasperatingly difficult even to the men 
whoi have spent a lifetime in solving them. Yet there 
is a branch of railroading whose difficulties may well 
be considered to outvie even those connected with the 
direction of physical transportation, and in the conduct 
of which there are a hundred chances of failure to one 
of success. Its general principles, if there are any, are 
so illusive and intangible that each problem has to> be 
analyzed and its solution determined almost inde- 
pendently of any other. And though this branch has 
nothing to do with the building of the roadbed, the 
maintenance of track, or the operation of locomotives, 
it is in reality the essence of railroading, since upon its 
successful handling depend the commercial success of 
the railway and its vitality as an operating concern. 
Probably more mistakes have been made in rate-making 
than in all other branches of railway work combined, 
and with greater ill effects. On the other hand, much of 
the actual adjustment of rates has been of unparalleled 
benefit in stimulating the economic growth of the 

127 



128 RAILWAY ORGANIZATION AND WORKING 

country both as a producer and as a trader. That errors 
have been and will be made in rate-making is not sur- 
prising in view of the complexity of any trade situation 
to which a freight rate has to be applied. A great deal 
of intelligence has been given to the work by traffic 
officials; and yet, with all of this, it would seem as 
though still more is demanded. 

It has been said that the term "rate-making" is in- 
appropriate, that the railway does not possess such a 
power, and that its work is simply that of recording 
from time to time the conditions determining the rate. 
In a sense this is true; but it is obvious that, in so* far 
as the railway does not respond truly to> the economic 
environment, its rate record will be all out of tune. 
Everybody has more or less vaguely been aware that 
a railway is limited in the arrangement of its tariffs 
by considerations, first, as to securing traffic, and, 
second, as to* moving the traffic at a profit. These 
purely commercial considerations limit the variation of 
rates, but within their limits there is wide possibility for 
any rate or series of rates to be established which is 
far from representing the ideal response to the real 
necessities of trade and industry. In fact, the per- 
plexing intricacy of rate relations is a powerful argu- 
ment, with the railway rate-adjuster, to make no 
change save that which is obvious to his own intelli- 
gence as being in the financial (sometimes political) in- 
terest of the railway. As a consequence, it is not im- 
possible to find very peculiar rate relations existing at 
competitive, and even at non-competitive, points. 

I have one case in mind now where a branch line 



NOTES ON FREIGHT RATES 129 

taps a main line and then runs through practically its 
own territory for a distance of some 130 or more miles. 
The local rates from Chicago are 68 cents per 100 
pounds on first-class freight to the junction point, 80 
cents to the next station on the branch line 11 miles 
away, and the same to the remaining 120 or more miles' 
terminating at another junction point, which, in com- 
mon with other places, sets the 80 cents rate. In de- 
termining the proportional rates from the Mississippi 
River on traffic originating east of the Illinois-Indiana 
state line, the proportional from the river to the first 
junction point is 40 cents, and then increases with the 
distance (the stations being classified into' several 
groups) to 45, 47, 49, 55, and finally to 60 cents, this 
being the proportional rate to the competitive junction 
point previously referred to as the terminus of the 
branch line. Here there are in operation over the 
same stretch of line two rate policies which seem in- 
consistent with each other, and hardly to be justified on 
the ground that one system applies to through rates 
and the other to locals. As' already stated, it is hard 
to understand rate relations of this kind, except by at- 
tributing them to a natural desire to avoid any rate 
adjustments except such as competition or immediate 
financial advantage demand. 

Several interesting illustrations of the intricacy of 
rate relations are to be found in the evidence given by 
railway officials before the Industrial Commission. 
For instance, the rates from the West to Mobile, Ala., 
were determined, under the policy established by the 
Mobile & Ohio Railroad, by the rates to New Orleans, 



130 RAILWAY ORGANIZATION AND WORKING 

which were necessarily fixed very low on account of 
water competition. It was felt that the railways' 
could not afford to put into effect at points to the north 
of Mobile the low rates enjoyed by the latter. Hence 
the rates to such points were on a much higher level, 
though applying to shorter distances. In fact, the evi- 
dence revealed that it was possible to ship certain com- 
modities to such a point as Montgomery, Ala., through 
to Mobile, 175 miles farther south, reshipping at that 
city back to Montgomery, at a cheaper rate than could 
be obtained by direct shipment. The local rate from 
Mobile to Montgomery, it may be noticed, was kept 
low by the competition of the Alabama River. The in- 
consistency was allowed to exist by the railways for 
fear that the reduction of the direct rate to Montgom- 
ery would necessitate reduction at other trading centers 
in the adjacent territory. The whole situation in this 
territory well illustrates the intricacy of which I have 
been speaking. Montgomery rates are influenced by 
Mobile rates, Mobile rates by New Orleans rates, and 
New Orleans rates by the river rates' to St. 
Louis, The St. Louis-New Orleans rates neces- 
sarily affect the Chicago rates, and, in turn, 
a host of others. Though Galveston is 350 
miles or more to the west of New Orleans and the 
Mississippi River, its determination to compete with 
the latter city adds still further to the complexity of 
the rate situation. Obviously, the rival interests of 
Chicago and eastern manufacturing centers have to be 
satisfactorily balanced. Bearing this in mind, it will 
not be difficult for the student to understand how the 



NOTES ON FREIGHT RATES 131 

alteration of the rates effective between St. Louis and 
New Orleans might affect literally thousands' of other 
rates. 

It is not to be wondered at that inconsistencies exist 
under such conditions, some of them almost inex- 
plicable. It might well puzzle even a traffic man to 
give satisfactory explanation why grain rates from 
southeastern Minnesota — for instance, the district be- 
tween Albert Lea, Minn., and La Crosse, Wis. — to 
southeastern territory should be based on a differential 
of 6 cents in favor of St. Louis as against Chicago'. St. 
Louis is nearer southeastern territory than Chicago, 
but Chicago is much nearer the originating territory 
than its sister competitor. La Crosse, by the Chicago, 
Milwaukee & St. Paul Railway is 283 miles from Chi- 
cago; Albert Lea, by the Minneapolis & St. Paul Rail- 
road, the Iowa Central Railway, and the Wabash Rail- 
road, is 478 miles from St. Louis. Under these cir- 
cumstances it might have been presumed by the unini- 
tiated that the differential granted to St. Louis would 
have disappeared in this territory. Of course, the reply 
given to the inquirer would be that the differential 
was upheld by the direct competitive route established 
into St. Louis. The cause of the difference is obvious, 
its logic less so. 

The methods adopted in fixing rates, by the rail- 
ways both of this country and abroad, have subjected 
them to much criticism, and considerable attention 
has been given to reform schemes proposing to place 
rate-making on a simpler basis, and incidentally to re- 
lieve the railways of the power of discrimination. The 



132 RAILWAY ORGANIZATION AND WORKING 

two principal theories of rate-making advanced by the 
reformers rely, in the one instance, on distance as the 
only proper measure of a rate, and, in the other in- 
stance, on cost of service. The impracticability of con- 
structing rates on either of these bases alone is demon- 
strable. On a traffic of 1,000 tons a day from A to 
B the connecting railway could enjoy its normal per- 
centage of profit, and yet charge a considerably lower 
rate than for traffic between A and some point C, an 
equal distance away, amounting to only 1,000 tons a 
month. Within certain limits, railway operation, like 
manufacturing, is subject to the law of increasing re- 
turns — the more the freight there is to be carried, the 
cheaper it can be carried. Physical conditions are also 
to' be taken into' account in considering distance as the 
only basis for railway rates. Of two railways operat- 
ing from the same center, the lines of one may traverse 
broken and mountainous country, while those of the 
other may pass through a practically level region. The 
operating expenses of the former will be seriously 
greater than those of the latter — the same motive power 
equipment and the same expenditure of fuel and water 
will haul nothing near the same number of loaded 
cars to a train — and the cost of maintenance of equip- 
ment and track will be substantially heavier. Given a 
similar quantity of traffic to be moved and a similar 
distance to' be operated over, it is perfectly clear that 
rates which would give the level road a normal profit 
would simply spell ruin to' the hilly road. Hence, as 
the sole basis of rate-making, distance fails. Yet it 
it true that to transport a train-load of freight 500 



NOTES ON FREIGHT RATES 133 

miles costs more than to< carry it but half that distance, 
and to that extent distance must be considered to con- 
stitute a part of the composite basis of rates. The 
"equal mileage" theory, as generally propounded, pro- 
poses to retain a proper classification of commodities, 
but demands that to each commodity a uniform rate 
of so much per ton per mile be applied. As already 
appears, this' ignores the fact that the cost of carrying 
the freight 250 miles will be much more than half the 
cost of conveying it 500 miles, assuming that the physi- 
cal formation of the country along the whole route is 
about the same. The cost of terminal handling is a 
very important item in the total expenses of transpor- 
tation, and these will approximate the same whether 
the distance hauled be long or short. Once the cars 
are loaded and the train made up, the additional ex- 
pense incurred in moving that train an extra 250 miles 
forms but a small percentage of the total charges 
against that train. 

Cost of service as the sole basis of rate-making 
recognizes the factor of distance in the sense just 
explained, but is impossible because impracticable. 
If one could definitely ascertain the cost of carrying 
any proposed consignment of freight, allowing in the 
calculation for both transportation and standing ex- 
penditures, there would at once result an easy solution 
of the problem of finding a rate basis that would carry 
with it its own justification. Its application would free 
the railways from impeachment on the grounds of 
favoritism and discrimination. Unfortunately, our 
limited wisdom does not enable us' to determine scien- 



134 RAILWAY ORGANIZATION AND WORKING 

tifically the way to distribute the cost of train-working 
over the hundred and one things that may elbow one 
another in the same freight-car and in the same train ; 
nor how to> assign with exactitude the proper propor- 
tion of administrative expenses to each package; nor 
even how to distribute track expenses between the 
comparatively light, fast-moving passenger trains and 
the heavy, slow-moving freight trains. Even if ascer- 
tainable, this cost of service would be perpetually oscil- 
lating. In this country tonnage is generally lighter in 
the summer than in the fall, and the consequent less 
advantageous use of equipment — lighter train-loads, 
and so forth — means greater cost per ton-mile. Hence, 
to> observe strictly a cost basis', summer rates would 
have to> be higher than fall rates. The establishment 
of rates on such a basis would by no means' do' away 
with the present wide differences in rates'. The 
stream of traffic between the two> centers, Chicago and 
New York, for instance, flows eastward. This entails 
the returning of large numbers of cars even if empty. 
The cost of hauling them fully or partly loaded with 
freight will not be greatly above that of hauling them 
empty. The cost to< the railways of hauling that freight 
westward is something very different from the east- 
ward cost; and if the basis of actual cost is to be 
observed, the rate for the former service will be much 
less than for the latter. 

A third basis of railway rates has sometimes been 
suggested — namely, that they should be fixed in uni- 
form relation to the value of the freight to the shipper. 
To a degree the present system of freight charges does 



NOTES ON FREIGHT RATES 135 

this, though also taking into account other factors. An 
unmodified value basis would carry a ton of coal 50 
miles or 500 miles for the same charge, and would 
resemble a tax. If it were so applied, it would estab- 
lish the so-called "postage stamp" principle, and, with- 
in the territorial limits of its operation, would bring 
about the annihilation of space (though not of time), 
regarded by some as the apotheosis of railway trans- 
portation. There is little possibility that such a plan 
will ever assume practical importance, notwithstanding 
the partial application of the principle in the case of 
"group" or "blanket" rates. 

It is conceivably possible to' arrange a classification 
of commodities so grouped that an appropriate per- 
centage of value could be obtained from a consignment 
of freight, whether it were a ton of coal or a bale of 
silk, but the amount of tax incident upon any particular 
consignment would only by accident bear any relation 
to the extent of the service performed. Such a system 
of rate taxation would assuredly tend to 1 concentrate 
the trade of the country — and consequently, to no 
small extent, its population — in the seaboard cities, 
since dealers, receiving import shipments, could handle 
from the seaboard to any interior point at the expense 
of a single tax, whereas inland jobbing points would 
have to make reshipment, and hence would be taxed 
twice on their imported freight. The political and 
economic results of this seaboard congestion would be 
unfortunate. Such a tariff would stimulate extremely 
long-distance traffic ; on the other hand, short-distance 
traffic would be penalized with higher charges. How- 



136 RAILWAY ORGANIZATION AND WORKING 

ever, it is not worth our while to spend time on tracing 
out the possible results of a merely theoretical basis of 
railway charges. 

Not one of the above theories, standing by itself, is 
free from serious' defect. Yet each contains an ele- 
ment which it would seem desirable to> have included 
among the factors affecting the railway rate, and the 
conclusion is inevitable that the correct theory of rate- 
making is one that takes into consideration all of these 
factors — distance, cost of service, and value of ship- 
ment (and, to a certain extent, the value to the shipper 
of the transportation service performed for him). No 
fixed relative value can be attached to' any factor; the 
importance of its influence upon the rate must accord 
with the demands of any particular situation, and may 
be the same as, greater than, or less than its importance 
under any other conditions. This is really what prac- 
tical rate-making endeavors to do, and all that is im- 
plied in the much-misunderstood principle of "charging 
what the traffic will bear." 

Many people still regard such a basis of rates as 
pure piracy, justifying the exaction of unreasonable 
prices for transportation from the users of the same. 
Even a railway with sovereign powers over its territory 
might find it advisable to charge a really low rate for 
its' services, A large volume of business at a low rate 
o<f profit may be far preferable to a small volume at a 
high rate. Monopoly, even in its most absolute form, 
does not necessarily mean the imposition of the highest 
charges at which any business can be done, but those 
charges which are likely to bring in the maximum net 



NOTES ON FREIGHT RATES 137 

profit. Like every other commercial undertaking, this 
is what the railways are striving after; and so long 
as a decrease of charge will stimulate and increase busi- 
ness sufficiently to add to the net profit, so long will 
railways continue to lower their rates, as a matter of 
pure self-interest. This is further assured by the pres- 
ence of rivalry among the railways themselves, and 
by the powerful influence of water competition. 

It will be understood that the statement we have 
made is true as a general proposition and in the long 
run ; but every rule has its' exceptions, and there can be 
no doubt but that, at times, railways have maintained 
some of their rates, if not at the maximum under which 
any traffic could move, certainly at a level high enough 
to retard the development of an industry. Traffic and 
executive officials are human, and, accordingly, like the 
rest of us', are liable to' misread their own interests. 
There has been more than one case where a railway 
has maintained a rate on a certain commodity which 
permitted but comparatively small shipments and re- 
tarded the development of the industry, until the intro- 
duction of other rail competition — by the construction 
of another line, for instance — has forced the rate down, 
with marvelous results in the growth of that traffic, 
and with corresponding benefit to the laggard road and 
its' rival. But such conditions as this must be regarded 
as more or less exceptional. Though hackneyed by 
frequent use, it is worth recalling that "charging what 
the traffic will bear" means' equally well "not char- 
ging what the traffic will not bear." Its interpretation 
as charging all that the traffic can bear irrespective of 



138 RAILWAY ORGANIZATION AND WORKING 

the conditions of present and future development, is 
unjustifiable. Mr. W. M. Acworth, an English writer 
on railway economics, says : 

Translated into railway language the principle means this: 
the total railway revenue is made up of rates which, in the case 
of traffic unable to bear a high rate, are so low as to cover hardly 
more than actual out-of-pocket expenses; which, in the case of 
medium-class traffic, cover both out-of-pocket expenses and a 
proportionate part of the unapportioned cost; and which finally, 
in the case of high-class traffic, after covering that traffic's own 
out-of-pocket expenses, leaves a large and disproportionate sur- 
plus available as a contribution toward the unapportioned ex- 
penses of the low-class traffic, which such traffic itself could not 
afford to bear. 

Of course, such a basis of rate-making removes all 
mathematical tests as to the propriety of a rate, and 
as a result discriminations, and so forth, are apt to 
appear. But all discriminations are not necessarily im- 
proper. The discrimination, however, should always 
be one justified, both in nature and in proportion, by 
the surrounding economic conditions'. For example, it 
is a universally recognized practice, so far as this 
country is concerned, to> grant a lower rate to the man 
who can ship a carload than to the man who* ships 
in less-than-carload consignments. It may be that the 
difference between some existing carload and less-than- 
carload rates is unnecessarily large; but, however that 
may be, it is much less expensive for a railway company 
to handle loaded cars than to have to handle every con- 
signment of freight through its freight-houses, and the 
convenience to the railway is often worth a consider- 
able reduction from the less-than-carload rate. Just 



NOTES ON FREIGHT RATES 139 

as there is a justification for the lower level of carload 
rates, so it may easily be conceived that the shipper 
who is prepared to ship by train-load is also 
entitled to further consideration. One can well go 
farther and say that a still lower charge for transporta- 
tion might be reasonably granted to the train-load ship- 
per if he were prepared to guarantee regular traffic to 
the railway handling his freight — a train once a week, 
for instance. Under each of these conditions there 
would be a convenience to the railway, resulting in 
economy of operation and making a lower rate equally 
as profitable to it as a higher rate under conditions' im- 
posing more responsibility and more work. 

Of all methods of discrimination the rebate has of 
late years' received most attention. The writer has 
nothing to say in defense of the secret rebates to which 
traffic men have been driven in their too eager desire to 
secure business for their respective roads as against 
competitive roads. But the rebate that is granted to 
shippers on condition of consigning a certain amount 
of freight per week or per month is harmless to* the 
public interests so> long as it is an open proposition able 
to be secured by all who can fulfil the conditions. 

More complex than discriminations between indi- 
viduals are discriminations between places. Every lo- 
cality will fight to the last for advantages over its com- 
peting rivals; and, with this problem of conflicting 
interests before them, it would be a surprising thing, if 
the railways could avoid errors of judgment. Injustices 
have happened under the laissez-faire policy of 
railway tariff-making, but many of the discriminations 



140 RAILWAY ORGANIZATION AND WORKING 

arising from that policy have helped industry and man- 
ufacture to develop with a rapidity that has been 
equaled nowhere else. If it had not been for discrimi- 
nations in favor of the grain of the West, this country 
could never have acquired the predominance in the 
grain market upon which it has been able to* build so 
much of its' manufacturing prosperity. If freight rates 
to Chicago' had been placed in proportion to> freight 
rates to Albany, there would have been very little Chi- 
cago today ; if St. Louis had not received the benefits of 
discrimination in the shape of a differential under Chi- 
cago', it could hardly have attained its' present pros- 
perity ; and the same may be said of a number of other 
thriving cities in the West and South. Without the 
development of these entrepots of trade, and centers of 
culture and civilization, the economic and social condi- 
tion of the interior states of this country would be 
today half a century at least behind what it is. 



ORGANIZATION OF THE OPERATING DE- 
PARTMENT OF RAILROADS 

R. H. AISHTON, GENERAL MANAGER, CHICAGO & NORTH- 
WESTERN RAILWAY 

The organization of the Operating Departments 
of railways differs in some respects, but, in the main 
particulars, has a certain uniformity. Each organiza- 
tion has invariably been developed by a species' of evolu- 
tion, just as the large railway systems of today, with 
their eight, ten, and even fifteen thousand miles of 
road under one management, have been evolved by the 
consolidation and amalgamation of a large number of 
individual lines', each with its own separate organiza- 
tion. 

The line of railroad with which I am connected — the 
Chicago & North-Western — may be taken as an exam- 
ple. I have a little pamphlet, entitled Yesterday and To- 
day, containing a brief history of the road, in which I 
find that, starting in 1847, w ^ the construction of the 
first mile of the Galena & Chicago Union Railroad, 
chartered and built westward from Chicago, we read, in 
successive order, of the following lines : The Madison & 
Beloit ; the Rock River Valley ; the Chicago, St. Paul & 
Fond du Lac; the Kenosha, Rockford & Rock Island; 
the Chicago, Iowa & Nebraska; the Cedar Rapids & 
Missouri River; the Milwaukee & Chicago Union & 
St. Paul; the Sioux City & Pacific; the Fremont, Elk- 
horn & Missouri Valley — all of them separate organi- 

141 



142 RAILWAY ORGANIZATION AND WORKING 

zations, started and built originally by local capital and 
to serve local interests, each with its' own organization 
and set of officers. 

The organization of these roads primarily consisted 
of a principal officer, who was usually the representative 
of the financial interests connected with the road. 
Under him was a Manager or Superintendent, and evi- 
dence is not wanting that he was the whole Operating 
Department, so far as the organization was concerned. 
He looked after the track, bridges, etc. ; purchased all 
the supplies, audited the accounts, paid the taxes, built 
the cars', repaired the locomotives, acted as train dis- 
patcher when the telegraph service was first instituted ; 
and, in general, was the "whole thing." 

In October, 1864, a consolidation of the various 
lines took place, whereby the Chicago' & North- Western 
Railroad came into being. About that time the true 
organization or evolution of the Operating Department 
began, and it became necessary to have a certain au- 
thority who should bring uniformity of practice into 
the administration of the road. There being a num- 
ber of superintendents for the small portions of the 
road, the most natural thing was to create a General 
Superintendent, responsible to the President. His duties 
were naturally scattered over a wide ground, and this 
led to the appointment of an expert in charge of the 
engines, motive power, and cars, termed a Master Me- 
chanic or Superintendent of Motive Power. The pur- 
chases for the road having attained large proportions, 
it next became necessary to appoint a Purchasing Agent 
in charge of all these things. Long before this, how- 



THE OPERATING DEPARTMENT 143 

ever, it had become necessary to take the traffic entirely 
out of the hands of the General Superintendent, and to 
create a special department for this, reporting directly 
to the President. The maintenance of track and 
bridges, and the movement of trains', by this time had 
become so important that the General Superintendent 
was overburdened; therefore a General Manager, 
usually an expert in these matters, was appointed, to 
whom heads of the various departments would report, 
and through him to the President. So much for past 
history. 

As indicating the scope of the system and the respon- 
sibilities that are placed with the operating men, it may 
be of interest to note that in 1857 the old Chicago' & 
Galena Union Railroad, which is now the Chicago' & 
North- Western, had 260 miles of road, and that the 
total number of men employed was 1,904. In the fall 
of 1857 there was a panic, and in January, 1858, the 
road had discharged all of its' force except 722 men. 
Today there is in the employ of the Chicago & North- 
western an army of 28,000 men, for the faithful per- 
formance of whose duties the Operating Department 
is responsible. The road comprises 7,408 miles of track, 
and has 1,307 engines, 1,200 passenger-cars, and 52,- 
500 freight-cars '•; and it is the particular province of the 
Operating Department to see that these vast powers are 
worked with a view to securing results for the owners. 

The present organization of this vast system can 
best be made intelligible in diagrammatic form. 



ORGANIZATION OF THE OPERATING DEPARTMENT OF 
THE CHICAGO & NORTH-WESTERN RAILROAD 



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THE OPERATING DEPARTMENT 145 

The General Manager stands at the head of the De- 
partment. His aids' are the General Superintendent, 
the Superintendent of Motive Power, the Superin- 
tendent of the Car Department, the Purchasing Agent, 
the Chief Engineer (on certain classes of work), and, 
in succession, the heads of the Dining-Car, Telegraph, 
Testing, Inspection, and Claim Departments; each of 
whom reports to< his superior officer. Reporting toi the 
General Superintendent are the Division Superintend- 
ent, the Signal Engineer, and the Car Service. Agent. 
Reporting to the Division Superintendent are the Train 
Master, on all matters pertaining to employees engaged 
in train and yard service; the Train Dispatcher, in 
charge of the agents' and operators ; the Road Master, 
in charge of the men employed on track and mainte- 
nance and repairs ; and the Division Engineers, on mat- 
ters pertaining to water supply and bridges and 
buildings. The development of signal systems' in the 
last few years has brought another officer into the field, 
as an aid to the General Superintendent, namely, the 
Signal Engineer, who has charge of all the men install- 
ing, operating, and maintaining the signals. For the 
proper distribution and use of the equipment of the 
company, an officer, termed the Car Sendee Agent, is 
injected into the organization, reporting directly to the 
General Superintendent, and acting under his instruc- 
tions. 

Next in relative importance to the General Superin- 
tendent, on the staff of the General Manager, is the 
Superintendent of Motive Power. The diagram fully 
explains the scope of his duties, and much of the effi- 



146 RAILWAY ORGANIZATION AND WORKING 

ciency and smoothness with which the service is' con- 
ducted is due to the efficiency of this department. With- 
out locomotives in first-class condition, ready for duty 
at all times and in abundant number, the service 
rendered by the corporation, and the results to that 
corporation, will be disappointing. 

The duties and work of the other officers are clearly 
outlined in the diagram, and need no' explanation. 

In this very brief outline I have endeavored to make 
clear the scheme of organization, the duties of the vari- 
ous officers and employees, the relations between them, 
and the various channels by which the General Man- 
ager retains his control and knowledge of the situation. 
Lord Nelson, at the battle of Trafalgar, said to the men 
of his navy: "England expects every man to do' his 
duty/' The province of the Operating Department is 
not only to say this, but also to outline definitely before- 
hand to every man in the service just in what his duty 
consists, and then to see that every man actually does 
his duty, by day and night, in foul weather as well as 
in fair. 



THE PURCHASING AGENT 

E. V. DEXTER, PURCHASING AGENT, CHICAGO & ALTON 
RAILROAD 

In presenting the subject of the Purchasing Agent 
and the Purchasing Department, I shall endeavor to 
give a general and connected idea of that branch of rail- 
way work. There is, of course, much detail, such as 
actual figures, kinds of office forms used, and the like, 
that cannot well be fully discussed and explained in the 
time at my command. 

The first thing to be considered is the origin of the 
office of the Purchasing Agent — how and why it be- 
came necessary. It may be said to* be one of the newer 
offices, when compared with those of the Superintend- 
ent and of the Master Mechanic. By process of evolu- 
tion, it has grown up into a department of itself. When 
I say "evolution," I mean that its necessity became ap- 
parent with the same onward force that has resulted, 
and is resulting, in the consolidating and intensifying 
of railway business generally. 

It is not so very long ago that a separate department 
of purchases was not considered necessary in many in- 
stances. The small roads in the early days secured 
their supplies and distributed them through the Su- 
perintendent's or General Manager's office. In such 
cases there was no necessity for a Purchasing Agent. 
This is still true today of* certain railway companies 
of small mileage and limited business, where a trusted 

147 



148 RAILWAY ORGANIZATION AND WORKING 

clerk in the Superintendent's or General Manager's 
office looks after all the detail work, and places orders' 
as he is instructed. With increasing consolidation, and 
the forming of the present-day railway systems, these 
purchasing duties had to> be specialized and put in 
charge of one officer, who devotes his whole time to 
them. 

I have used the word "specialized;" and, at first 
thought, it may appear necessary that the Purchasing 
Agent should have, as his chief qualification, a tech- 
nical and expert knowledge of the hundreds of classes 
of materials which he is called upon to> buy; but this' 
is impracticable. For instance, to' know to a nicety the 
limits of stress on a steel bridge girder comes rather 
within the province of the Chief Engineer. In a gen- 
eral way, the qualifications that count of most impor- 
tance are integrity, good business sense, sound and 
quick judgment, and sufficient railroad experience to 
handle the business of the office with dispatch. 

The special and expert work of the Purchasing 
Agent lies in his constant watchfulness and study of 
markets and prices, in order to be able to take advan- 
tage of market conditions, in a measure to forecast 
future conditions, and to act accordingly. A good way 
to keep informed is to read the daily papers as well as 
the commercial periodicals. Dun's and Bradstreet's 
commercial agencies' give reviews of business condi- 
tions in the daily papers. The trade journals, like the 
Iron Age, the Commercial Bulletin and various others, 
give the trend of the markets, granting always the ex- 
ercise of personal judgment in the reading. There 



THE PURCHASING AGENT 149 

are certain lines' of material, like iron and steel, that 
have a way of indicating general business conditions. 
In fact, it seems' that other lines of business follow 
along; and when the slump or rise comes in these par- 
ticular materials, one may expect to> see other materials 
affected in like manner. Another way in which the 
Purchasing Agent cannot help absorbing much infor- 
mation of this kind is by frequently seeing and talking 
to the representatives of the trade. These men, many 
of them, are as' well posted in business affairs pertain- 
ing to railway supplies as can be found, and are most 
willing, of course, to talk prices and to discuss the out- 
look. The element of personal judgment comes in here 
again, and the Purchasing Agent soon learns' to get at 
the facts. 

Previous experience in railway work, leading up to 
the position of Purchasing Agent, is of considerable 
advantage, and gives him much more confidence in his 
frequent reports to, and correspondence and confer- 
ences with, other officers of the road, and, in fact, in all 
his negotiations. The knowledge of how freight is 
handled assists in getting the material to its destination 
after it is ordered — no small part of the work. A gen- 
eral idea of railway accounts, and an understanding of 
railway office detail, are collectively a valuable quali- 
fication, though not the most important. 

The office of the Purchasing Agent is not elective, 
like that of the Treasurer or the Secretary, but he is 
appointed either by the President or the General Man- 
ager, or by the Vice-President and the General Man- 
ager. The Purchasing Agent becomes one of the 



150 RAILWAY ORGANIZATION AND WORKING 

general officers of the road, and reports, and is acount- 
able, to the officer appointing him. 

The Purchasing Agent's' office is sometimes, classified 
in the Operating Department, but more often and 
properly becomes a department by itself, as the work is 
distinctly different from that of other departments. 
The Purchasing Agent does not have any direct au- 
thority as to how the road shall be operated ; he cannot 
say what method shall be followed in securing the traf- 
fic of the road, either passenger or freight; he has no 
authority in financial policies, or to' formulate methods 
for the accounting of the road's receipts and disburse- 
ments ; but he has authority over the material required 
to operate the road — not how or where it is to be used 
after he has secured it, but in seeing that his company 
has the right standard of material for its' needs, and that 
it is obtained at a satisfactory cost. This is really the 
heart of the Purchasing Agent's work. His advice is 
asked, and cost reports are called for, in the case of ex- 
penditure for improvements and additions. He is in a 
position to know the favorable time when the purchase 
of material for this extra work and improvement should 
be made, and in this way can render valuable service. 

The scope of the Purchasing Department may be 
divided into three heads : ( 1 ) procuring' supplies — in- 
cluding the purchase and, after purchase, the delivery 
of the material to its destination; (2) the conservation 
of supplies, or store stock; (3) the sale of old material. 

Beginning with the first head, procuring supplies, I 
shall first give a general outline of the Purchasing 
Agent's force. This includes the men in the office and 



THE PURCHASING AGENT 151 

those in the field. The office force and office detail are 
placed in charge of an assistant or chief clerk, who has 
under him a sufficient number of order clerks, voucher 
clerks, and invoice clerks to' turn out the work promptly 
and satisfactorily, subject to the supervision and direc- 
tion of the Purchasing Agent. The modern railway 
system has its Fuel Agent, Stationer, Cross-Tie Inspec- 
tors, and General Storekeeper — all, as a rule, within 
the Purchasing Department and reporting to the 
Purchasing Agent. 

It may be noted here that fuel is the largest single 
item of material expense; and, to> give some idea of 
quantities and cost, I may mention that the railway 
with which I am connected, operating about a thousand 
miles of road, uses over half a million tons' of coal, at 
an annual cost of about $600,000. While these are 
large figures, they are comparatively small when com- 
pared with the consumption and cost on the larger rail- 
way systems. Hence it is not surprising that the work 
of the Purchasing Agent is divided, and so arranged 
that all of these important matters may receive the 
proper attention. The Fuel Agent's duties are of no 
small importance, as he is held responsible for the 
proper kinds of fuel and the proper amount. His nego- 
tiations are carried on directly with the mine-owners 
and operators, and he is expected to keep himself in- 
formed concerning the situation in the coal markets. 
If there are actual or threatened strikes in the coal-fields 
from which the railway company draws its fuel sup- 
plies, he must take such action as will protect his road 
in the event of a shortage. In the same general way, the 



152 RAILWAY ORGANIZATION AND WORKING 

Tie Inspector, the Stationer, and the Storekeeper are 
looked to for results of economy and good service. I 
have not named all of the officers whom I have desig- 
nated as the men in the field : their number and duties 
vary with the extent and business of the railway. 

Now, the question may possibly be raised here : How 
does the Purchasing Agent know how much and what 
kind of material to> buy? Whence comes his informa- 
tion ? The basis' on which he works is the requisition. 
Requisitions show the quantity and kind of material, 
what it is to' be used for, and how soon it is wanted, 
The departments using the material, as shown on the 
various requisitions, are the Motive Power, Mainte- 
nance of Way, Signal, Transportation, and Commissary 
or Dining-Car, and the requisitions are compiled under 
the direction and approval of the heads of these depart- 
ments. These requisitions, with few exceptions, are 
forwarded through the office of the General Store- 
keeper, and are then sent to the General Manager, 
sometimes to both the General Manager and the Presi- 
dent, for approval, before they reach the Purchasing 
Department. 

There are, however, certain exceptions to this gen- 
eral rule. There are cases of emergency where ma- 
terial is ordered by telegraph. In such cases the requi- 
sitions covering the telegraphic orders are received 
later, with a notation to* that effect. A particular in- 
stance of this' occurred during the Missouri and Missis- 
sippi river floods in June, 1903, when large quantities 
of piling and timber were ordered by telegraph to> in- 
sure the promptest possible handling of the orders. In 



THE PURCHASING AGENT 153 

an emergency of this kind the Purchasing Agent is ex- 
pected personally to see that the cars for the material 
are placed promptly, and the material loaded and ship- 
ped without delay. In the instance just cited much 
of the material was on the way to its destination twelve 
hours after the order to purchase it had been received. 
Any delays in such cases are very apt to' mean addition- 
al loss, and of necessity such emergency supplies cannot 
wait on the regular requisition procedure. I might 
mention that at that time a quantity of gunny sacks, 
filled with sand, were secured and dispatched with all 
haste to the scene of trouble, for the purpose of bolster- 
ing up the caving embankments. 

As explained above, the requisitions, after having 
received the proper approval, next come to the Purchas- 
ing Agent's ofhce for his action. The Purchasing 
Agent has on hand a list of prices for practically all 
material that he is called upon to buy, subject to con- 
tinual market changes. Such of the material as has 
been secured on contracts made by the Purchasing 
Agent for a period of time may be ordered at once with- 
out any further preliminaries. Material not contracted 
for is listed and sent to supply concerns with the request 
that they make their bids'. In this way, by the opera- 
tion of competition, the lowest prices are secured con- 
sistent with the quality and grade of material specified 
on the request for bids. When the bids are received, 
the Purchasing Agent is ready to> place the order; but 
considerable judgment is required in selecting the right 
bid. As a general proposition, the lowest price usually 
takes the order. But, besides the price, other things 



154 RAILWAY ORGANIZATION AND WORKING 

must be considered, as, e. g., whether or not the bidder 
can deliver the material within the required time, or 
whether from his past experience the Purchasing Agent 
may be sure that the lowest price quoted covers the 
quality and kind oif material wanted. These negotia- 
tions are frequently carried on verbally, as well as by 
correspondence. At times a better arrangement can be 
made verbally. Throughout these negotiations it is es- 
sential that the business is handled very promptly, and 
that no effort is spared to cover all points before the 
order is finally placed. 

After this somewhat brief explanation of how the 
fuel supply is handled, something may now be said 
regarding quality. The Fuel Agent may or may not 
have one or more fuel inspectors reporting to> his office, 
whose duties keep them out on the road and at the 
mines. By this system of inspection the quality of the 
fuel is maintained at standard. The method o<f in- 
spection varies with the different railways, and is gov- 
erned or limited by the extent of the purchases'. In 
some cases the fuel inspector is responsible to the 
Superintendent of Motive Power, while in other cases 
the Fuel Agent, or the official buying the fuel, is held 
responsible; but, in any event, the Purchasing Depart- 
ment is finally accountable for the proper standard of 
fuel. In much the same way, cross-ties and other tim- 
bers are inspected, and the quality, conforming to stand- 
ard specifications, is maintained. The cross-tie inspec- 
tors, as' a rule, report directly to the Purchasing Agent. 

Regarding the question of quality and inspection of 
the thousand and one other materials, it may not be 



THE PURCHASING AGENT 155 

unreasonable to suspect that the Purchasing Agent is 
often quite at sea when it conies to> knowing whether or 
not such materials conform to the standard of quality 
required. It must, however, be remembered that in 
every railway system all the employees, from the high- 
est to the lowest, bear some relation to one another — 
a relationship governed by what is known as "the good 
of the service." Hence the Purchasing Agent is pro- 
tected, as it were, by as many inspectors of material as 
there are users of it. It is both a written and an un- 
written rule that, where material is received that is in- 
ferior, or does not conform to standard specifications, it 
must be reported at once, or rejected if necessary. This 
information always comes to the Purchasing Agent 
very promptly, and sometimes with more than ordinary 
emphasis. The Purchasing Agent has thus a complete 
check on the quality of the material; and, where the 
specifications have not been complied with, the supply- 
ing firms, whether intentionally or unintentionally of- 
fending, are the losers. Owing to the efficient 
protection of this system, such occasions are, however, 
comparatively rare. 

Another means of guarding against inferior quality 
is the system of printed specifications, referred to above. 
For instance: The Motive Power Department uses 
quantities of various materials, and, in order to secure 
a standard of quality, specifications' are prepared by 
experts in this department, defining exactly the grade 
of material and the tests it must stand. These specifi- 
cations, as they are prepared, are printed, the Purchas- 
ing Agent keeping a supply in his office. In the same 



156 RAILWAY ORGANIZATION AND WORKING 

way the Maintenance of Way and the Transportation 
Departments have their specifications. While these 
do not cover everything that is bought, as far as' they 
go they furnish a substantial foundation for the Pur- 
chasing Agent upon which to base his purchases. 
When these specifications are used, it is incumbent upon 
the department needing the material to> inspect and 
test it to see that it is in accordance with the standard 
requirements. There are yet other means to> determine 
the quality O'f railway supplies; in which connection 
may be mentioned the various laboratories' operated by 
independent companies having in their employ expert 
engineers to> inspect, test, and analyze all material en- 
tering into railway work. Practically all steel rail is 
inspected, tested and analyzed by these independent 
companies. Some of the larger railway systems have 
found it economical to maintain their own testing lab- 
oratories, in charge of the Engineer of Tests'. 

The mere purchase of the material does not complete 
the work. When the orders are placed and accepted, 
they must be followed up to see that the material meets 
with no 1 transportation or shipping delays'. What are 
known as "tracers," both written and telegraphic, must 
be sent out, in order to follow and hasten shipments of 
material that has been delayed, or which is hard to 
secure after it has been ordered. There is perhaps no 
limit to the effort which a Purchasing Agent may 
expend in this' direction. 

As to 1 the kind of material that should be contracted 
for, there is no rule other than the conditions of the 
markets and the amount required of a given kind. It is 



THE PURCHASING AGENT 157 

always safe to contract for locomotive fuel, as there 
is no telling what may happen to set one's plans at 
naught, unless one is protected. The supply of cross- 
ties should likewise be looked after, as well as such 
other materials as cement, cast-iron pipe, etc., when- 
ever it is expected that a large quantity will be used. 

To sum up, the question of contracts is one generally 
regulated by the Purchasing Agent's judgment. 

The Stores Department, or Store Stock, is usually 
presided over by a General Storekeeper, reporting, as a 
rule, to the Purchasing Agent, but sometimes to the 
Superintendent of Motive Power. With few excep- 
tions, the record of all material purchased, other than 
that properly belonging to the Stationery and Com- 
missary Store Stocks, as well as the record of the re- 
quisitions discussed above, is kept by the General Store- 
keeper. While all this material is not delivered direct 
to the Storehouse, and much of it is consigned to points 
on the line where it is to be used, the Storekeeper is 
expected to have a complete record of the kind of ma- 
terial, quantity, cost, and by what department used. 
There are also many classes of material, such as 
lumber, small hardware, etc., that must be kept on hand 
to be issued to various departments — materials that 
cannot well be bought in the small quantities called for 
daily. This stock, which we might call "running sup- 
plies," is replenished as often as necessary by the Pur- 
chasing Agent, on approved requisitions received from 
the Storekeeper. The Storekeeper in turn issues these 
supplies from the Storehouse on requisitions known as 
Store Stock requisitions, received by him from foremen 



158 RAILWAY ORGANIZATION AND WORKING 

of shop departments and agents, bearing - the approval 
of the proper officials. With his force of clerks, the 
Storekeeper is expected to know at all times the condi- 
tion of his stock. Besides his' system of accounts and 
checks to keep track of this, there is a semi-annual 
inventory by actual count and measure. It is a test of 
efficiency for the Storekeeper to> keep down his stock 
to the lowest practical working point, in order not to 
have more money than necessary tied up in material. 
For the purpose of facilitating the issue of these stores' 
to all points on the road, there are outlying smaller 
stores, taken care of by local storekeepers or clerks, who 
are accountable to> the General Storekeeper in all mat- 
ters pertaining to> their stocks. 

In addition to this General Store Stock, there is an- 
other important stock, known as the Stationery Store 
Stock, where a supply of all the numerous blank forms 
and other stationery is kept, to be issued by the Sta- 
tioner promptly on receipt in his office of the monthly 
requisition from the General, Division, and Station 
Agents' Offices. These requisitions, as a rule, are su- 
pervised and approved by the Traveling Auditors. 
The form and nature of the blanks are usually arranged 
through a Blank Form Committee or by the General 
Manager, and contracts are made by the Purchasing 
Department providing for the necessary supply. There 
is, in addition to* these blank forms, considerable print- 
ing that is not carried in stock, such as' general office 
orders, advertising matter, freight tariffs, and the like. 

Another stock, known as the Commissary, and in 
charge of the Superintendent of Dining-Cars, is han- 



THE PURCHASING AGENT 159 

died in much the same way. In the case of each of 
these three stocks there is a monthly balance taken as a 
check on the amount of supplies. Although it is not 
taken by actual count and measure like the semi- 
annual inventories, yet it is very important and serves 
to keep the book records up to date and correct. 

One more matter remains to be spoken of, namely, 
the sale of old, worn-out material. This finds a ready 
market in nearly every part of the country. Old rails, 
serviceable for relaying purposes, bring almost as much 
as' new rails, and are easily disposed of. There are 
several other kinds of salable salvage, such as empty oil 
barrels, scrap paper, scrap linen, brass foundry ashes, 
and many others too numerous to mention. This end 
of the work includes also the sale of old cars, engines, 
machinery, etc., and requires as close attention as the 
purchase of new supplies. Scrap sales amounting to 
$10,000 per month are not a high average for a railway 
of moderate size. The second-hand material dealers 
are as shrewd a business class as the Purchasing Agent 
meets with. 



BALLAST 

A. S. BALDWIN, CHIEF ENGINEER, ILLINOIS CENTRAL 
RAILROAD 

The term "ballast" in railroad parlance is applied to 
any material that is used between the cross-ties, or 
sleepers, of the track, and the surface, or subgrade, of 
the roadbed as constructed. Its function is to' maintain 
the track and to protect the surface of the roadbed. The 
word "ballast" is defined in the Manual of Recommend- 
ed Practice of the American Railway Engineering and 
Maintenance of Way Association as "selected material 
placed on the roadbed for the purpose of holding the 
track in line and surface." This fitly describes it. 

The primitive method of ballasting, or rather of 
surfacing, the track was to' use the material of which 
the roadbed was composed ; but it was soon found that 
many materials furnished and maintained a better 
surface than the clay or earth of which the roadbeds 
were most generally formed. These better materials 
were transported from their natural location and inter- 
posed between the cross-ties and the subgrade at other 
places, thereby becoming, and being called most appro- 
priately, "ballast." It is still common to find tracks of 
railroads, which have light traffic and slow speeds, 
surfaced on dirt. Such tracks are sometimes spoken 
of as having "dirt ballast ;" but the name is a misnomer, 
as' the word is correctly applied only to the material 
interposed between the cross-ties and the roadbed. 

1 60 



BALLAST 161 

It will be proper to consider, first, what the require- 
ments of a material are in order that it may constitute 
a perfect ballast ; and, second, the characteristics' of the 
materials used as ballast, and their adaptability for such 
use. 

In order to meet the requirements of a perfect bal- 
last, a material should be hard and durable, capable 
of resisting the destructive effects of tamping and the 
disintegrating influences of the atmosphere. 

It should be easily handled and capable of ready ad- 
justment. The roadbed is subject to settlement, and is 
liable to be eroded, changed, and encroached upon in 
many ways ; but the surface and line of the track must 
be maintained at all times. Consequently, it is of great 
importance that ballast should be capable of being easily 
adjustable to such changed conditions, on short notice. 

It should be sharp; that is, the projections from its 
surface should be acute and capable of engaging the 
cross-ties, so as to prevent lateral or longitudinal 
motion. 

It should be a "free" material, so that the water that 
falls' upon it may pass off readily, since, if held, it will 
heave the track when frozen, or soften the roadbed 
under other conditions. 

It should have no chemical properties that will cause 
it to be destructive to the cross-ties, whether they are 
of wood or metal. 

It should be capable of being obtained in large quanti- 
ties and at reasonable cost. 

There is, of course, no material that can fulfil all of 
these requirements; they are given only by way of 



1 62 RAILWAY ORGANIZATION AND WORKING 

affording a basis of comparison between the various 
materials that are in use as ballast. Of these materials 
the following, named approximately in the order of 
excellence or availability, will be considered: (i) 
broken stone; (2) gravel; (3) furnace slag; (4) cin- 
ders; (5) burnt clay; (6) sand; (7) chert; (8) chats. 

1 . Broken stone. — The material that probably most 
nearly fulfils the requirements of a perfect ballast is 
crushed or broken granite, gneiss, or trap rock. Fol- 
lowing it closely is broken limestone, some limestone 
being equal in its properties', for this purpose, to 
granite. It is but rarely that sandstone of sufficiently 
hard and durable quality is found to stand being broken 
successfully into ballast. 

Broken-stone ballast was originally obtained by 
taking the rock from the quarries in stones of a size 
that could be readily handled by one man. These stones 
were distributed along the track, and then broken into 
spalls by napping hammers. The hammers weighed 
about two pounds each, and were' used with long 
handles, so that a man in standing position could break 
the stones, which finally were reduced to< small sizes by 
"stone-crackers." This process made excellent ballast; 
the cubes' were sharp, and there was but little waste. 
The final breaking, which was done between the ties 
and on the shoulders, made the mass solid and compact. 
It is still claimed by many old track-men that no track 
so well maintains its line and surface as the one put up 
in this way — i. e., which has had the stone broken into 
it after it was surfaced. The process was too* slow, 
however, the quantities required too great, and labor 



BALLAST 163 

v._ scarce, to permit of the continuance of such 
methods ; hence, rock-crushers were introduced. These 
have gone through various processes of evolution, and 
are now manufactured in very large sizes, single 
crushers being made capable of producing 2,000 tons' 
of crushed stone per day. In some plants several large 
crushers are sometimes mounted so as to take the stone 
as it first comes from the quarries, deliver it into screens 
which sort it into> various' sizes, and, by means of con- 
veyors, return any stone of too large size that is carried 
through, to' a smaller crusher, which in turn recrushes 
and delivers it, 

The size of stone required for ballast varies some- 
what under different specifications. The size most gen- 
erally required at first was a stone that would pass in 
any direction through a two-and-a-half-inch ring. 
Nowadays engineers are generally requiring a some- 
what smaller stone, sizes that will pass through a two- 
inch or one-and-three-quarter-inch ring being frequent- 
ly specified. A beautiful and efficient ballast is formed 
by eliminating all stones in excess of two inches and 
under three-quarters of an inch. Where stone ballast 
of too small size is used, it becomes readily rilled with 
dirt, which prevents it from being "forked" clean. 

A great mistake, in the writer's judgment, is fre- 
quently made by using broken-stone ballast on a new 
roadbed. Where the roadbed is freshly formed of 
earth, the best and most economical results are obtained 
by first using a material of a bonding nature, which 
will solidify the top surface of the grade. There is, 
of course, no bond to broken stone; as a result, when 



164 RAILWAY ORGANIZATION AND WORKING 

first used on a new roadbed, it sinks into' the surface, 
particularly where the latter is composed of soft or 
moist material, becomes filled with mud, and is ruined. 
As, on a new road, frequent ditching and banking are 
required, the shoulders' of the ballast are likewise liable 
to become filled with dirt. In the writer's opinion, one 
of the best materials for use on a new roadbed is gravel 
of a strongly bonding nature, as: it forms a solid and 
compact surface on top of the grade for sustaining the 
stone ballast when used. Where this' cannot be had, 
the screenings from rock-crushers form an excellent 
substitute. Even free gravel, sand, or cinders, used 
before the stone ballast, effect a great economy and 
afford greater facility for quick manipulation. 

Broken stone forms an excellent ballast where the 
track is subject to water-wash of any kind. Where 
stone is costly and difficult to 1 obtain, track subject to 
wash, and surfaced on sand or free gravel, has' some- 
times been protected from the wash by a top dressing 
or veneer of stone. 

Stone is, ordinarily, more expensive in first cost, and 
in cost of maintenance, than other ballast, but affords 
a more durable roadbed, and one that is freer from 
dust — the latter feature affording a great attraction 
toi the traveling public. The cost of tie-renewals is 
likewise higher with stone than with other kinds of 
ballast; but, on account of the facilities afforded for 
drainage, the life of ties is longer, and the encroachment 
of vegetation is resisted. 

The hardest of stone ballast is gradually disin- 
tegrated by the effects of tamping. An examination of 



BALLAST 165 

the stone after it has been tamped under the ties shows 
that most of the cubes have been crushed by the process. 
It is likewise wasted from the sides in cleaning the 
roadbed and in cutting the sod line. Consequently 
renewals, to a greater or less extent, are always going 
on. 

2. Gravel. — Of the kinds of gravel that are used 
for ballast it may be well said that their name is legion. 
It is more liberally provided by nature, of a quality 
fitted for ballast in its natural condition, than any other 
material, and the best of it can hardly be surpassed in 
usefulness and adaptability for the purpose. It is found 
in many parts of the country in large beds, from which 
it can be lifted by steam shovels in great quantities', and 
loaded on the cars at a cost of but a few cents per cubic 
yard. In some places it is dredged from river bottoms, 
and in others, where mixed with earth or clay and 
bowlders of too large size, it is made serviceable by 
washing or crushing. 

In the writer's judgment, the best gravel ballast is 
one that is entirely free from bonding material, has 
stones with a maximum size of about that of a walnut, 
and has in its composition a sufficient amount of sand 
to hold the particles together. Where gravel has 
neither sand nor bonding material in its composition, 
it is too loose and is easily jarred from under the track. 

On some railroads in the East a very high quality of 
track is maintained by placing upon the subgrade, 
before any ballast is used, about twelve inches of coarse 
spalls, an equal depth of gravel being provided on top 
of this. This gives, so far as drainage is concerned, 



166 RAILWAY ORGANIZATION AND WORKING 

almost an ideal condition, as the water is drained away 
from the ballast almost as rapidly as it falls, and the 
base is protected by the spalls from wash. An excellent 
feature of such an arrangement is the added length of 
life of the cross-ties, due to the fact that water is 
drained away from them immediately. 

A most excellent ballast is' obtained in some places 
in this country by dredging the sand and gravel from 
the river bottoms, passing it, in the process, over 
screens which eliminate the large stones, leaving only 
such proportion of sand — ordinarily twenty to thirty 
per cent. — as will afford the best results. Such a plant 
is now working for the Yazoo 1 & Mississippi Valley 
Railroad below Memphis, and at other points on the 
Mississippi River. Some of them have a capacity of 
several thousand yards per day. 

At some places in the South, and probably elsewhere, 
gravel of a very highly bonding property is found, 
notably the "Paducah" gravel in Kentucky, the "Tisho- 
mingo" gravel in Tennessee, what is known as' "nova- 
culite" in Illinois and Missouri, and "chert" in Alabama 
and other states; the last two, however, not properly 
being included with gravel, although having the same 
properties, so> far as adaptability for ballast is con- 
cerned. These materials generally form a very hard, 
compact, and inelastic roadbed. They cannot, as a 
rule, be dressed with a shoulder, as a basin is thereby 
formed around the tie, which becomes' filled with water 
in rainy weather and produces churning. They pro- 
mote the growth of vegetation, necessitating frequent 
weeding, but form a durable roadbed and, as before 



BALLAST 167 

stated, a most admirable foundation for stone ballast. 

The objections to most gravels for ballast are that 
they are dusty, that they are subject to being washed 
from under the ties during heavy rains, and that they 
promote the growth of vegetation. As an offset to 
these disadvantages, however, it is ordinarily the most 
economical material that can be obtained for ballast, 
it is easily handled and transported, and it affords an 
inelastic and smooth track. Tie-renewals' can be made 
much more cheaply in gravel than in stone, and, when 
it is "free," the life of the ties is as' long as with stone 
ballast. It is probable that more track in this country is 
surfaced with gravel than with any other one material. 

The disagreeableness of dust for the traveling public 
has been referred to, but it is objectionable also because 
it has a marked effect on the machinery and rolling- 
stock. The tires of locomotives, the tread of wheels', 
and the journals are all much more rapidly worn on a 
dusty roadbed than on one that is free from dust. 

3. Furnace slag. — Slag, as is well known, is the 
waste material from blast furnaces'. It is sometimes 
allowed to> run out into* beds from the cinder notch; 
water is thrown on it, and when cooled sufficiently, it is 
loaded into cars. Ordinarily, however, it is run from 
the furnace, in a molten condition, into' cars lined with 
fire-brick, and allowed to run from these cars while 
melted. The melted material forms successive strata, 
which break up in cubes from half an inch to several 
inches in diameter, constituting then what is known 
as "hot pot slag" — an excellent ballast. It is extremely 
sharp and very brittle. While generally harder than 



168 RAILWAY ORGANIZATION AND WORKING 

stone at first, its' brittleness causes it to crush under 
tamping, and at times it slacks, probably on account of 
excess of lime. It has more bonding qualities' than 
broken stone, solidifying under traffic to a very con- 
siderable extent, for which reason it is better for use on 
new roadbeds'. As a first coating, it forms an admirable 
foundation for broken stone. 

There are methods of granulating the slag, or other- 
wise preparing it especially for ballast. These are, 
however, but little used in this country. There are 
said to> be certain varieties of slag which cause decay to 
set in very quickly in the cross-ties. As a general thing, 
however, this' does not seem to be the case. Slag is 
sometimes loaded on the cars by the furnace companies 
in order to> get rid of it, under which circumstances it 
can be obtained very cheaply. With a steam shovel, 
the material can be loaded directly from piles' into the 
cars at small expense. The cost of maintenance under 
slag is practically the same as that of rock. 

4. Cinders. — For many years the value of engine 
cinders as ballast was not appreciated. The material 
was wasted, used in filling and leveling off" yards, or 
often given away in order to get rid of it. It consti- 
tutes', however, an excellent ballast for certain purposes. 

Where the roadbed is wet and muddy, many kinds 
of ballasts rapidly sink in and are destroyed. Under 
such conditions, cinders, on account of being light and 
porous, will sustain the track successfully where nearly 
all other ballasts fail. They are so* light that large 
quantities can be carried on a car — a great advantage 
when transported considerable distances. They are 



BALLAST 169 

easily and quickly handled, resembling in that respect 
a fine gravel or sand. Tie-renewals can be made in 
cinders readily and cheaply, and they are particularly 
advantageous for use in freezing weather, as, on ac- 
count of their resistance to moisture, they are not apt to 
freeze to any very considerable extent, and track sur- 
faced on them can be worked on in cold weather. 

Cinders, as ballast, have two serious effects, in that 
they cause very rapid deterioration and decay of the 
cross-ties, and have a corrosive effect on the rail. It 
is not uncommon, in yards where tracks have been sur- 
faced on cinders for a number of years, to find the base 
of the rail greatly corroded; and the life of cross-ties 
is much curtailed where they are used. They form, 
however, an excellent ballast for branch lines, on which 
traffic is light. Even a few inches of cinders under the 
ties will make it possible to maintain a remarkably good 
surface ; and, on account of their elasticity, they afford 
an exceptionally smooth riding-track. 

5. Burnt clay. — The use of burnt clay as ballast is 
comparatively modern. The best of it makes a ballast 
that is inferior to either stone, slag, or first-grade 
gravel. It came into' use, however, on account of the 
fact that many miles of railroad in some sections of the 
country were so far from any natural sources of supply 
for ballast that the cost of transportation was prohibi- 
tive; hence, the idea was conceived of burning clay. 
The raw clay is taken from the ground, arranged in 
alternative layers with slack coal into large heaps, and 
fired. After the mass becomes thoroughly burned, it is 



170 RAILWAY ORGANIZATION AND WORKING 

allowed to cool gradually, and is then loaded, frequently 
with steam shovels', into cars for transportation. 

Some specimens of burnt clay are found to be ex- 
tremely hard, but as a rule it is light and unable to 
withstand, for any great length of time, the action of 
tamping. It supplies a long-felt want in many locali- 
ties where there is no natural ballast, and where the 
cost of transportation for other ballast is too great to 
be justifiable. 

6. Sand. — Sand is ordinarily used for ballast only 
where it is not practicable to obtain any of 
the materials hitherto discussed. In a dirt road- 
bed, however, with a sufficient quantity of sand 
under the ties, a much higher degree of efficiency 
can be obtained than if the tracks are surfaced 
on dirt. Where better materials cannot be had, it 
affords a top dressing for a green roadbed which is a 
decided improvement over putting a good ballast, par- 
ticularly stone, immediately on the subgrade. 

7. Chert. — Chert is decomposed hornstone or flint 
rock. It occurs, so far as the writer's experience ex- 
tends, in irregular beds, sometimes of considerable 
magnitude, and in different sections of the country. 
In being taken from the bed it breaks up into* angular 
cubes of various sizes, and makes a ballast similar to 
cemented or bonding gravel, giving an extremely hard 
and inelastic roadbed. It is necessarily dressed away 
from, the ends of the ties, as it would otherwise hold 
the water in. It makes a firm and durable top for the 
roadbed, and affords an excellent foundation for ballast 
of other descriptions. Chert and novaculite, and similar 



BALLAST 171 

materials', are much more suitable for the construction 
of roadways than for use as ballast, except as a founda- 
tion. 

8. Chats. — Chats are waste or tailings' from the ores 
of zinc and lead. They come in granules of about the 
size of a pea, and are extremely heavy. They afford a 
ballast akin to that of fine gravel of similar size, except 
that they are not so liable to be washed, holding their 
position in the track more firmly on account of their 
weight and of their becoming, in a measure, solidified. 
The use of chats is restricted to> the comparatively small 
area of the country in which the mills' are located. By 
reason of the fact, however, that the process necessitates 
the use of a large amount of coal, they have been used 
quite largely by railroad companies, as the cars, in being 
returned home, can be loaded with chats instead of run- 
ning empty. Chats are freer from dust than most 
gravel, and are not favorable to the growth of vegeta- 
tion. 

Before closing, some mention should be made of the 
screenings from rock ballast. It is' now universally cus- 
tomary to screen the stone as it is broken by crushers in 
the quarries, in order to' eliminate the fine material from 
the stone ballast. These "screenings" are used for 
various purposes, making sidewalks and fair plat- 
forms, where not subject to< heavy usage. They are 
also used in ballasting branch and subsidiary main lines. 
They form, under the track, a compact and solid mass, 
bonding to* a considerable extent. In the ballasting of 
new roadbeds, screenings have been found to> afford an 
excellent foundation for rock ballast; in fact, the use 



172 RAILWAY ORGANIZATION AND WORKING 



of any bonding material on such roadbeds has been 
found to work an economy in both the cost and main- 
tenance of any character of free ballast. 

The following table gives the average cost per cubic 
yard of production of ballast in various localities : 





Material 


Labor 


Haul 


Total 


Stone 

Gravel 


$0.50-0.60 
O.06-O.25 


$0.25-0.35 
O.15-0.25 


$0.05-0.25 
0.05-0.15 


$0.80- 1.20 
0.26- 0.65 



The question of the transportation of ballast is one 
of considerable importance in the maintenance of a 
modern railroad. Where it is' to; be carried very long 
distances', cars of great^capacity are provided and heavy 
machinery is used, the same rules for economy in opera- 
tion applying as in handling revenue freight. As an 
illustration, the Illinois Central Ralroad is today trans- 
porting stone from Kentucky, to use on extremely 
southern lines in Louisiana and Mississippi, where no 
good natural ballasts occur — an average distance of 
500 miles'. 

Two' kinds of cars are employed, the Roger ballast- 
cars of 100,000 pounds' capacity being used in connec- 
tion with side-dump cars. The Roger cars' can be un- 
loaded with great convenience and economy, being 
designed to unload such proportion as may be desired 
either in the center or along the sides of the track. It is 
customary to get the track as high as' possible on the first 
raise, dump the Roger cars in the center of the track, 
and follow it up with the side-dump cars. This effects a 
great saving in the manipulation of the ballast as' it is 
delivered to the roadbed, the side-dump cars being 



BALLAST 173 

unloaded with Lidgerwood machines and center plow. 
When the haul is (great, the side-dump cars' afford an 
economy, as compared with Roger ballast-cars, on ac- 
count of their greater carrying capacity in proportion 
to the dead weight. The side-dump cars, when used 
alone, however, involve the necessity of forking or 
shoveling a portion of the ballast into> the center of the 
track. 

Ordinarily 3,000 cubic yards of ballast are required 
for a mile of track, this providing for twelve inches of 
ballast under the ties'. The amount varies, however, 
with the depth required, the length of cross-ties used, 
and the amount of shoulder outside of the ties. For 
convenience, there is attached a table giving the number 
of cubic yards required under varying conditions. 

It will not be out of place, in closing, to- refer to* the 
question of drainage, which is the sine qua non in the 
maintenance of a roadbed. No- ballast of any character 
can be maintained in good shape, nor used effectively in 
the maintenance of the line and surface of the track, 
unless ample facility is provided for draining the water 
away from the track. It has been well said that "water 
is the worst enemy of the roadbed." 

The writer has had experience with what is ordi- 
narily spoken of as "bad bottom;" that is, a roadbed 
composed of clay or earth lacking consistency and easily 
attacked by water. On occasions he has come across 
both cuts and fills, on which the best stone ballast had 
been placed and replaced for a number of years, in 
which the stone, mixed with mud, has actually been 
found to a depth of five to> six feet below the cross-ties. 



174 RAILWAY ORGANIZATION AND WORKING 

In digging into such embankments, they have been 
found, in the driest weather, to be thoroughly saturated 
with water. Under such conditions no- roadbed can be 
effectively maintained with any kind of ballast, the only 
solution being the provision of a thorough and efficient 
system of drainage. This is' accomplished in many 
places by subsoil drainage, such as is' used on moist farm 
lands, tile drains being placed below the level of the 
roadbed so as to keep it in a thoroughly dry and com- 
pact condition. 

With first-class drainage and a heavy rail, an excel- 
lent condition of roadbed can be maintained with even 
a poor character of ballast ; the highest efficiency being 
reached, of course, where the best of drainage and the 
best of ballast are combined. 



ILLINOIS CENTRAL RAILROAD BALLAST TABLE 
SHOWING CUBIC YARDS PER MILE OF TRACK 






Size of Ties 


Double 
Track 


Single Track 


Material 


Class A 


Class B 


Class C 


Rock j 


6"X8"X8'o" 
7"Xo"X8'6" 
7"Xo"Xo'o" 


6,891 
7,341 
7,49 6 


3,488 
3,784 
3,9l 6 


2,692 
2,966 
3,081 




Cementing gravel 


6"X8"X8'o" 
7"Xo"X8'6" 
7"Xo"Xo'o" 




2,747 
2,887 

2,995 


2,291 

2,414 
2,506 


1,868 

1,975 
2,050 


Loose gravel and 
cinders 


6"x8"X8'o" 
7"Xo"X8'6" 
7"Xq"Xq'o" 


7,325 
7,924 
8,061 


3,825 
4,168 
4,302 


3,Ol4 
3,3H 
3,428 


2,287 
2,536 
2,635 


Earth • 


6"X8"X8'o" 
7"Xo"X8'6" 
7"Xo"Xo'o" 








499 
54i 
55i 



RAILWAY TERMINAL FACILITIES 

L. C. FRITCH, ASSISTANT TO THE GENERAL MANAGER, 
ILLINOIS CENTRAL RAILROAD 

The function of a railway corporation is the trans- 
portation by rail of passengers or persons, and goods 
or property. To perform, this' function with dispatch 
and economy, facilities of various kinds are required, 
which may be classified as follows : ( i ) permanent 
way, embracing tracks and structures; (2) rolling- 
stock, comprising equipment, such as locomotives, cars, 
etc. These two classes constitute the essential elements 
— or tools, as it were — of the work of transportation. 
Their subdivisions would fill a volume, and will not be 
entered into here. We shall dwell upon the former 
class only long enough to separate from it the topic 
assigned. 

"Permanent way" may be defined as that portion of 
the physical property of a railway which has permanent 
location — such as rights of way, station grounds, real 
estate or lands, tracks, bridges', buildings, docks, 
wharves, etc. ; as distinguished from physical property 
used in transportation, or movement of traffic — such 
as locomotives, cars, etc. "Terminal facilities" may 
be regarded as that subdivision of permanent way 
which embraces' the handling of traffic at points of 
origin and destination, and may be divided into two 
classes: (a) passenger terminal facilities; (b) freight 
terminal facilities. The word "terminal" literally re- 

175 



176 RAILWAY ORGANIZATION AND WORKING 

fers to the ending or final point, and, in this sense, 
really comprises facilities for the delivering and receiv- 
ing of traffic at its points of origin and destination, or 
at the ends of its movement. 

There are various classes of terminal facilities, which 
may be described as follows : ( 1 ) local terminal facili- 
ties, or the facilities for handling traffic at a local or 
way station, along a line of railway; (2) intermediate 
terminal facilities, or the facilities for handling traffic 
at an intermediate point on a line of railway, such as' a 
division, or district terminal ; ( 3 ) final terminal facili- 
ties, or the facilities' for handling traffic at the terminus 
of a railway division, district, or line. The foregoing 
are properly divided into passenger and freight terminal 
facilities. 

Local terminal facilities are so simple in their nature 
and SO' limited in their extent as to 1 require only a brief 
explanation. Local passenger terminal facilities' usually 
consist of an independent building used for the purpose 
of a passenger station, and are commonly divided into 
three classes, as follows : Class A — a building having 
twoi waiting rooms, one for women and one for men, 
a ticket office serving both waiting-rooms, and a bag- 
gage- and express-room, either jointly or separately 
constructed, depending upon the size of the station 
served; Class B — an independent building similar to 
the above, having only one waiting-room, and a ware- 
room used jointly for merchandise freight, express, 
and baggage; Class C — an independent building of 
large dimensions', used exclusively for passenger serv- 
ice, with or without sheds over the tracks, and confined 



RAILWAY TERMINAL FACILITIES 177 

to cities of large population. The latter class includes 
stations or terminals in large cities. 

PASSENGER TERMINALS 

The extreme types O'f passenger terminals in this 
country are represented by the New York Central Sta- 
tion in New York City, the South Boston Station of 
the New York, New Haven & Hartford in Boston, the 
Union Station in St. Louis, the proposed new passenger 
terminals of the Pennsylvania Company in New York 
City, and the Union Terminal in Washington, D. C, 
now in process of construction. To give an adequate 
description of merely the largest passenger terminals 
is beyond the scope of a brief paper, and, therefore, ref- 
erence may be made only to the salient features' of some 
of those mentioned above. Those of lesser note will be 
left out of consideration, though many of them possess 
interesting and novel features, and each is worthy of 
careful study. 

The architecture of modern railway passenger ter- 
minals is in itself a field for the specialist, and many 
noted engineers are making it their life-work. Next in 
importance, if not of equal importance, is the track ar- 
rangement at important terminals. There are two va- 
rieties : ( 1 ) through-track arrangement, where trains 
enter at one end of the train-shed and depart from the 
opposite end; (2) pocket- or spur-track arrangement, 
where trains enter and depart from stub- or spur-tracks. 
The through-track arrangement is the most desirable 
from every point of view, as it obviates the undesirable 
feature of backing trains' into or out of a terminal sta- 



178 RAILWAY ORGANIZATION AND WORKING 

tion, which must be done in the case of a pocket ar- 
rangement. Location and available space often limit 
the design, or modify it to the extent of permitting only 
a pocket arrangement, or a modification of it in the 
form of a combination of a through and pocket arrange- 
ment. 

Passenger terminal accessories. — The necessary ap- 
purtenances to> passenger terminals are : ( 1 ) baggage-, 
express-, and mailrooms; (2) passenger-coach and 
equipment yards; (3) passenger-locomotive house. 

1. Baggage-, express-, and mailrooms at passenger 
terminals of large cities form an important part of the 
required facilities, and must be provided with regard 
to economy in operation, as well as to* ease in properly 
conducting these branches of the service. As a rule, 
such facilities are arranged in close proximity to> the 
entrances to the train-shed, and are provided with 
tracks for accommodating the different kinds of goods 
handled. 

In the handling of baggage, the inbound and out- 
bound business are usually separated, but immediately 
adjoining each other. A further subdivision of hand 
baggage and large baggage is made. The former is' 
usually received from, and delivered to, passengers 
directly, and requires a location convenient to 
the main entrance to the station; the latter is han- 
dled by transfer companies, and is received and 
delivered at a more remote point, and more nearly 
at the point of receipt from and dispatch to 
the trains'. It is the common practice to handle bag- 
gage of all kinds', between the baggage-rooms and 



RAILWAY TERMINAL FACILITIES 1 79 

trains both on inbound and outbound business, by 
means of trucks'. This is done for the purpose of ex- 
pediting delivery as" well as for quickly handling bag- 
gage received for shipment a short time prior to< the 
departure of trains. In cases of large shipments, such 
as theatrical baggage, baggage-cars' may be switched 
into tracks at the baggage-rooms; but the custom of 
handling baggage directly from the station platform is 
almost universal in this country. 

In the handling of express matter a somewhat dif- 
ferent practice is followed. The express buildings are 
usually located at a point at or near the ends of train- 
sheds. The express matter is handled through the 
warerooms of the express building,, where it is classified 
and loaded directly into cars on outbound business. In 
the case of inbound business the express-cars are usually 
placed on tracks at the warehouse, and the freight is 
unloaded into* the house from which distribution is 
made. This practice is departed from in cases where 
both express and baggage in limited quantities are han- 
dled in one car, when the former is usually handled in 
the same manner as baggage. 

Mail matter is handled in various ways. In the case 
of outbound mail, cars are usually placed at the mail- 
room, or on the receiving-track convenient for receiving 
the mail directly from the mail-wagons. A short time 
before the scheduled departing time of the train the 
mail-cars are switched into 1 the train-shed, and mail 
may be received by means of trucks' until the time of 
departure. In the case of inbound mail it is usual to 
unload all high-class matter directly from the cars im- 



180 RAILWAY ORGANIZATION AND WORKING 

mediately upon the arrival of the train, and other matter 
from the mailroom track into' wagons. 

The handling of baggage, express, and mail offers 
perplexing problems in the operation of large passenger 
terminals. Many plans for overcoming the obstruction 
of platforms by trucks have been devised, principal 
among which is a system of ample and convenient sub- 
ways, with elevators; but the problem has' not yet 
reached a satisfactory solution, and the most modern 
facilities still reveal the objectionable features' of inter- 
ference with passengers on the platforms. The appli- 
cation of overhead carriers has an advantage in keeping 
trucks' off the platforms except at the actual points of 
delivery and receipt, and promises an eventual elimina- 
tion of this difficulty. In Chicago, the Illinois Tunnel 
Company's underground system will soon be used, in 
handling mail, communication with the train-sheds 
being provided by means of chutes and elevators'. 

2. Passenger-coach and equipment yards' are usually 
divided into> two parts : (a) a coach storage-yard, 
where coaches' and other passenger equipment are stored 
ready for use, being "made up" or switched in the order 
in which the equipment is required for use in trains; 
(b) a cleaning-yard, where the equipment is placed 
immediately after arrival, to be cleaned and made ready 
for use. The storage-yard is usually a simple series of 
parallel tracks of capacity to hold a train of maximum 
size; the tracks being, in some instances, designed to 
serve also as a cleaning-yard, where cars may be cleaned 
without taking them to a separate cleaning-yard. 

The cleaning-yard is a specially designed yard, with 



, RAILWAY TERMINAL FACILITIES 181 

tracks spaced a sufficient distance apart to permit the 
cleaning of the outside o<f cars on adjoining tracks. A 
system of water-, air-heater, and gas-pipes extends 
throughout the yard, with frequent connections so ar- 
ranged that use may be made of any of these necessi- 
ties for any car. The renovation o<f the passenger 
equipment forms a most important part in the passen- 
ger service of today. At the end of each trip or run it 
is now customary thoroughly to> renovate both the inte- 
rior and the exterior of each passenger-car, entailing a 
large force of men and no small expense. In this 
work the vacuum system of cleaning by means of com- 
pressed air is now largely employed, resulting in great 
economy and in increased facility in producing sanitary 
results. The cost involved in the use of the compress- 
ed-air system is about one-half of that of the old 
method of cleaning. 

3. At large terminals it is customary to provide sep- 
arate and independent locomotive-houses for the accom- 
modation of engines used in passenger-service. These 
houses are of two types : (a) the conventional round or 
circular houses, with turn-tables at the center of the 
circle; and (b) the rectangular form, with transfer- 
tables to shift engines from one location to another, 
or to receive and dispatch engines; the table in some 
cases being replaced by an arrangement of switches 
providing access to any location in the house from 
either end. A recent design of a rectangular house, 
with an ultimate capacity of 40 locomotives, shows 
an area of 80,000 square feet for the rectangular form, 
as against 122,000 square feet for a circular house of 



1 82 RAILWAY ORGANIZATION AND WORKING 

the same capacity. Allowance, however, must be made 
for a turntable, which must be added to the rectangular 
house arrangement. 

Provision must also be made for cleaning the ash- 
pans of the engines, knocking the fires out of the fire- 
boxes, coaling,, watering, and sanding the engines; also 
for blowing off the steam from the engines at the end 
of the runs, washing out the boilers, and kindling fires 
by means of oil, gas, or wood. Facilities for making 
running repairs to engines, with drop-pits so that the 
driving-or track-wheels may be dropped under the en- 
gines without raising or jacking them up, are likewise 
necessities. 

Important passenger stations. — Attention is now 
called to a few leading passenger stations. 

The new Union Station at Washington, D. C, which 
is intended to be, it is said, the finest railway station in 
the world, will be completed by this autumn (1906). 
The estimated cost is about $18,000,000, shared by the 
railways, the federal government and the District of 
Columbia. The train-shed will be 760 feet wide and 
705 feet long, and will contain 33 tracks, of which 13 
will lie on a lower level than the remaining 20, the 
former being through-tracks to> accommodate the serv- 
ice which will use the tunnel under Capitol Hill. The 
general waiting-room will be 130 by 220 feet, and will 
be covered by a Roman barrel-vault 90 feet high. The 
passenger concourse, or lobby, will be 760 feet long by 
130 feet wide, and will be divided into an outbound 
concourse, 80 feet wide, and an inbound concourse, 50 
feet wide. 



RAILWAY TERMINAL FACILITIES 183 

The Union Station at St. Louis has, perhaps, a 
larger number of railways using it than any other sta- 
tion in the world. This station was remodeled in 1904 
for the traffic arising from the Louisiana Purchase Ex- 
position, which was handled with great success. The 
train-shed is a pocket-shed, 601 feet wide and 810 feet 
long, and has 32 tracks. The passenger concourse is 
120 feet wide — 70 feet wide for outgoing and 50 feet 
wide for incoming passengers. The entrance to the 
train-shed provides' for two three-track Y-connections 
from each direction. The express buildings are all 
located alongside and west of the track approaches to 
the station, each building being provided with independ- 
ent track connections. The baggage-room for small 
baggage is located alongside the concourse, but the bag- 
gage-room for wagon baggage is located under the 
south end of the train-shed. Subways are provided for 
handling baggage and express, and communication 
with the platform in the train-shed is had by means of 
elevators. 

The passenger station of the Boston Terminal Com- 
pany has the unusual feature of a substation located 
under the main station for the purpose of handling 
suburban traffic. The train-shed is 620 feet long and 
620 feet wide, and has 28 train-tracks. The substation 
has a double track, spread at the platforms. The sub- 
station tracks are entirely below the grade of the 
surface tracks'. The inbound baggage-room is located 
on the east side, and the outbound baggage-room on 
the west side, of the train-shed, with a subway for han- 
dling both express' and baggage. The express buildings 
are located on the west side of the tracks approaching 



1 84 RAILWAY ORGANIZATION AND WORKING 

the station, the buildings being provided with indepen- 
dent tracks for express-cars. 

FREIGHT TERMINALS 

' 'Freight terminals" may be defined as the facilities 
for the handling of freight traffic, and includes two 
classes : 

i. Combination freight and passenger facilities, 
where both freight and passengers are handled, and 
consisting of the usual arrangement of an addition 
to, or part of, a station building assigned to> the han- 
dling of freight or property. These are so simple in 
character as to require no further description, their ex- 
tent varying with the amount of traffic to be handled. 

2. Independent facilities, used exclusively for han- 
dling freight or property, and varying in character and 
extent from a simple structure of small dimensions, 
serving the smaller stations, to' the extensive structures 
and their appurtenances, serving the freight traffic of a 
large city. Wherever separate or independent facili- 
ties are required to handle the traffic, the general or 
fundamental requirements' are the same. Consequently, 
a description of the larger facilities will include those 
of less magnitude. 

The freight traffic of any railway is divided into' two 
classes: (a) carload lots — property being handled in 
units of a carload of some specified minimum; (b) 
less-than-carload lots' — property being handled in small 
units, each constituting less than a carload or lot. These 
two classes are respectively called, in railway parlance, 
"C. L." and "L. C. L." freight, and will be so desig- 
nated in this paper. 



RAILWAY TERMINAL FACILITIES 185 

The terminal facilities for any large freight station 
or terminal must include the following : ( 1 ) Freight- 
yards, for the purpose of receiving, classifying, storing, 
and forwarding freight-cars; also the necessary ap- 
purtenances, such as repair-yards, engine roundhouse, 
and equipment to care for freight locomotives. (2) 
Freight stations, including freight-houses, transfer- 
houses, warehouses, elevators, platforms, etc., for re- 
ceiving, delivering, storing, transferring, etc., freight to 
and from cars, (3) Team-tracks, for the purpose of 
handling freight directly to and from wagons and cars. 
(4) Industry tracks, for the purpose of receiving and 
forwarding freight directly from and to industrial 
plants ; the tracks extending into such plants, thus elimi- 
nating the necessity of drayage or transfer of freight 
by wagons. (5) Water terminals, for the purpose of 
interchange of freight between rail and water-craft; 
including docks', wharves, piers, elevators, warehouses, 
etc. These facilities will be briefly described in their 
order. 

1. Freight-yards. — The modern freight-yard of 
large capacity is usually designed on the following 
general lines : 

First, a receiving-yard, in which the inbound trains 
are received directly from the main line, and into which 
they are taken by the road crews, who are relieved at 
this point. The tracks in the receiving-yard diverge 
from a common ladder track, a certain number of tracks 
having a common ladder, and are of a length to accom- 
modate a maximum train. The modern practice is to 
provide tracks from 75 to 90 cars in length, the unit of 
car-length being 40 feet. 



1 86 RAILWAY ORGANIZATION AND WORKING 



Next in order to the receiving-yard is the classifica- 
tion-yard, reached by one or more lead-tracks so con- 
nected that any track in the receiving-yard is directly 
accessible to the classification-yard. The classification- 
yard is the working-center of the freight-yard, where 
cars are separated* classified, and assembled. Three 
types of classification-yards are now in use : (a) a yard 
in which the cars are classified "on the level" — by 
which is meant the shunting process, or the pushing 
and pulling alternately of the cars' by the switch-engine ; 
(b) a poling-yardj or one in which the classifying is 
done on inclined tracks — the switch-engine, with a pole, 
running on a track parallel to the lead-track, starts the 
cuts down the grade, whence they run by their com- 
bined momentum, aided by gravity, into the assigned 
track in the classification-yard; (c) the summit- or 
hump-yard, in which the cars are run to the summit 
of a grade, which rapidly descends into the classifica- 
tion-yard, the cars, after being detached at the summit, 
running down, under the action of gravity, into the as- 
signed classification-tracks. The utility of these three 
types of classifications is best exemplified by the follow- 
ing record of a test made in classifying a sixty-car train 
by each of the three methods : 





Level 


Poling 


Hump 


Number of cars 

Number of cuts 


60 

50 

5 
2 hrs. 

$2.44 


60 

SO 

9 
1 hr. 15 m. 

$1-55 


60 

50 

9 

30 m. 

$1.02 


Number of men 









The summit- or hump-yard has become a necessity 






TYPES OF CLUSTERS 




RAILWAY TERMINAL FACILITIES 187 

in a modern large freight-yard, where a heavy volume 
of business is done. The classifying-yard is usually the 
limit of the capacity of the entire system. In the design 
of the summit- or hump-yard great care must be exer- 
cised to adopt a gradient that will carry cars the neces- 
sary distance into the classifying-yard. 

The number of tracks required in a classifying-yard 
depends upon the number of classifications to* be made. 
The yard of the Chicago Union Transfer Company at 
Chicago has 42 tracks, of 60 cars' capacity each. The 
length of the tracks depends upon the maximum num- 
ber of cars usually handled per train, and ranges from 
45 to 90 cars. Track-scales' are usually located on the 
summit or hump. 

Next in order to the classification-yard comes the 
departure-yard, directly connected with the former, so 
that each track in the latter may be reached from any 
track in the former. The length of tracks in the de- 
parture-yard varies from 45 to* 90 cars, depending upon 
the number of cars handled in trains. In some cases 
the classification-yard, by suitable extension of its ca- 
pacity, also serves as a departure-yard. 

In close proximity to the classification-yard is usual- 
ly located the repair-yard, consisting of tracks widely 
spaced from 16 to' 22 feet center tx> center, and from 
15 to 20 cars' capacity, for the purpose of repairing 
cars in bad order. 

The storage-yards are usually located alongside of 
the classification- or forwarding-yard, and are used for 
the purpose of holding cars for disposition. It is often 
necessary to* reclassify such cars, and, therefore, con- 



1 88 RAILWAY ORGANIZATION AND WORKING 

nection must be made to permit them to be rehandled 
through the classification-yard. 

Ample leads for running track and communications 
with all parts of the yard system are provided, so> that 
there may be no interference with the yard operations, 
especially the classification of cars', which is the vital 
point in the entire business of the yard. 

It is the modern practice to provide separate systems', 
as above described — one system, for the traffic in one 
direction and a duplicate system for the traffic in the 
opposite direction ; the purpose being to enable traffic 
constantly to move in the direction of its objective 
point, avoiding false or backward movements. 

2. Freight stations. — A modern freight station of 
large dimensions includes such facilities as freight- 
houses, transfer-houses, warehouses, elevators, plat- 
forms, stock-pens, etc., and is used for the purpose of 
receiving and delivering freight by the railway from 
and to the public. Both C.L. and L.C.L. shipments 
are handled. Certain fundamental principles have been 
evolved, and are now generally accepted in the estab- 
lishment of modern freight-station facilities'. 

Freight-houses usually consist of inbound and out- 
bound houses. At the inbound house incoming freight 
is received, being unloaded directly into the house from 
tracks along the side. Usually not more than two 
tracks are required, the unloaded cars being pulled to be 
replaced with loaded ones. The object of this restriction 
of the number of tracks is to reduce the distance that 
freight must be trucked from the cars to the house. 
Modern practice limits the width of inbound freight- 



RY. USD. * M. OF W. ASSOCIATION. 




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STfraer 










in 














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. ASSOCIATION. 



TYPE OF OUTBOUND FREIGHT HOUSE 



RAILWAY TERMINAL FACILITIES 189 

houses from 60 to 70 feet, the length varying with the 
requirements, regulated by the volume of traffic. It is 
customary to provide a platform 8 to 10 feet wide on 
one or both sides of the house, which permits cars to be 
placed at any point opposite the house, and also fur- 
nishes accommodation for the maximum number of 
wagons on the delivery side of the house. Paved drive- 
ways, not less than 50 feet wide, should be provided on 
this side of the house. The doors of the house should 
be placed uniformly 40 feet center to center, in order 
to come approximately opposite the car doors when 
the cars are placed at the house. The house is usually 
posted in a systematic manner into sections numbered 
or lettered, and when freight is unloaded, notations are 
made on the freight-bills showing location, in order 
that it may be readily located. 

In L.C.L. freight-houses, which are used in han- 
dling merchandise in mixed lots, only one floor, as a 
rule, is provided. C.L. freight is not usually handled in 
such houses^ but, when so handled, is often held for 
storage. In this case usually a number of stories' is 
provided, the freight being raised by means of eleva- 
tors. The most approved type of elevator is the electric, 
which is both economical and efficient. 

The outbound house is used for the purpose of for- 
warding shipments received from wagons delivering 
at one side of the house. The freight is weighed as 
received, and then trucked directly into the outbound 
cars on tracks' along the other side of the house. The 
modern practice is to limit the width of the outbound 
house to 30 or 35 feet, in order to reduce the 



190 RAILWAY ORGANIZATION AND WORKING 

trucking distance over which the freight must be han- 
dled. The tracks are placed alongside of the house on 
the side opposite the driveway. They are usually spaced 
closely together, and as many tracks are provided as the 
number of cars' capacity for the daily loading requires. 
It is customary to provide an outside platform on the 
track side for convenience in longitudinal trucking ; but 
the wagon, or receiving, side is usually provided with a 
line of doors closely placed, so that nearly the entire 
side of the house is open for receipt of freight. 

Wherever space permits, it is good practice to> place 
the inbound and outbound houses, opposite each other, 
with the tracks between the houses and a transfer plat- 
form between two> sets of tracks for the purpose of 
transferring cars. This arrangement is a flexible one, 
to the extent that the track arrangement can be utilized 
for either house to 1 any desired limits ; also, the transfer 
freight can be handled at the same time with the in- 
bound and outbound freight. Furthermore, the freight- 
house forces are easily interchangeable, and full ad- 
vantage can be taken of the fact that in the morning the 
inbound freight is heavy and the outbound freight light, 
which conditions are reversed in the afternoons, thus 
keeping the forces' uniformly engaged during the entire 
day. 

Transfer platforms are used for the purpose of shift- 
ing freight from car to< car. Usually the freight from 
one car is distributed throughout many other cars. In 
the case of L.C.L. freight the inbound cars are placed 
on one side, and the outbound cars on the opposite 
side, of transfer platforms. The usual widths of trans'- 



TYPE OF INDUSTRIAL DISTRICT YARD 



TYPE OF DIVISION TERMINAL YARD 



TYPE OF CAR CLEANING YARD 



RAILWAY TERMINAL FACILITIES 191 

fer platforms are from 12 to 20 feet. They are usually 
provided with a canopy or roof for the protection of 
men and freight. The transfer platform is most con- 
veniently located when it is placed between the inbound- 
and outbound-house tracks, as inbound cars often con- 
tain freight both for city delivery and for outbound 
cars, which can thus: be handled with economy. 

Warehouses are usually provided for the purpose of 
storing freight, both inbound and outbound; but the 
regular business of warehousing is one apart from 
transportation, and in many states the laws prohibit 
railways from doing a warehouse business, other than 
such as is incidental to the transporting of the goods. 
Warehouses are therefore not essentially a part of rail- 
way terminal facilities, when considered strictly as 
warehouses. 

Elevators are provided for handling grain for the 
purpose of storage, cleaning, clipping, drying, sorting, 
or transferring from cars to vessels. The usual type, 
almost a universal one, is a system of tracks constructed 
over pits into which the grain is unloaded, thence being 
carried into bins by means of conveyors'. Chutes are 
provided for loading cars' on the same tracks when 
grain shipments are outbound. Marine conveyors are 
provided for carrying the grain from elevators to ves- 
sels, when the elevators are located at a point removed 
from the vessels' landing. In case of elevators directly 
alongside of vessels, chutes are used. 

Platforms for handling large and heavy shipments, 
which cannot be readily loaded directly from cars to 
wagons, or vice versa, are usually provided, so* ar- 



192 RAILWAY ORGANIZATION AND WORKING 

ranged that cars can be placed directly at the platform. 
A common form is a pocket track, with the floor of the 
platform at the same elevation as the floor of the cars. 
A derrick should be provided to handle heavy ship- 
ments : one of the traveling type, spanning the platform, 
two tracks, and the driveway, is the most efficient. It 
provides the means of transferring shipments' from car 
to car, from car to> platform, or for loading or unload- 
ing between wagons and cars. 

Stock-pens at large terminals are usually provided 
by stock-yard companies, but separate and smaller pens 
are also, as a rule, required at all terminals to handle 
shipments of stock. The common type has chutes for 
the loading and unloading, and is subdivided into 
smaller pens, holding from one to several carloads each. 
Watering and feeding facilities should also* be pn> 
vided, and, in many cases a shed roof over one-half of 
the pens is constructed for the protection of the stock 
from bad weather. 

3. Team tracks. — The handling of carload freight, 
which is loaded or unloaded directly from or into- cars 
and wagons, requires' "team tracks," These are usually 
constructed in pairs, with a paved driveway between 
each pair not less than 40 feet wide. Large quanti- 
ties of carload freight are handled by this means. It 
is usual to subdivide the team tracks into the various 
classes of traffic handled on them; for example, there 
may be "coal team tracks," "lumber team tracks," 
"merchandise team tracks," "perishable freight team 
tracks'," etc. 

4. Industry tracks. — "Industry tracks" is the 



RAILWAY TERMINAL FACILITIES 193 

name usually applied to tracks leading into industrial, 
manufacturing, or commercial plants. It is becoming 
more and more the custom for industries to> be located 
along the line of a railway or to be connected directly 
with such line by means of industry tracks, thus elimi- 
nating the handling of freight by means O'f wagons — a 
most expensive process. It often costs as much to 
transport a ton of freight one mile by wagon as it 
does to carry it 100 miles by railway. Industry tracks 
also make it possible to> do away with the additional 
double handling of freight, with its increased danger 
of breakages, etc. 

5. Rail and water terminals. — Rail and water ter- 
minals are provided at points of interchange of traffic 
between rail and water transportation. The facilities 
desirable are as: follows : 

Piers, either open or covered, on which freight is 
loaded and unloaded from cars to vessels, or vice versa, 
either directly from one to the other, or first handled 
on the floor of the pier and then transferred to cars or 
vessels. In the latter case double handling is required. 
Special types of piers are provided for various classes 
of freight — such as coal, and general export and import 
merchandise. 

The term "pier"is commonly applied to the con- 
struction of facilities where slips are used, the piers 
being accessible to vessels at the sides. In some in- 
stances, however, docks or wharves are necessary which 
lie parallel to the water; as, for example, the export 
wharves on the Mississippi River at New Orleans. Up 
to the present time slips and piers have not been used 



194 RAILWAY ORGANIZATION AND WORKING 

there, largely on account of the deposits of silt from 
the river, making the practicability of slips doubtful. 

No typical plans for water terminal facilities can be 
suggested. Conditions of traffic and limits of available 
space, when ocean, lake, or i iver terminals are in ques- 
tion, so affect the problem that each individual case re- 
quires its own design to suit local conditions. But a 
few general recommendations as to various types of 
piers may be mentioned. 

Covered lighterage piers, where cars are loaded or 
unloaded directly from, or into' vessels, should be about 
600 feet in length, with two depressed tracks. The 
width should suit the conditions of traffic, which, if 
moved promptly, requires less' width than if stored for 
some time. The widths should be from 125 to 160 feet. 
The distance between piers', or the width of the slips, 
should be about four times the width of the largest 
vessels. Open lighterage piers, where bulk freight, 
which does not require protection from weather, is' 
handled, need not be more than half the width of 
covered piers. 

Export, import, and storage piers should be of suf- 
ficient length to accommodate at least two vessels' on 
each side of the pier, or from 1,000 to 1,400 feet long, 
and should be from 125 to 160 feet in width. The 
width, however, should not be so excessive as to in- 
crease unnecessarily the cost of handling. The tracks 
should be depressed so that cars can be readily loaded 
and unloaded. The width of the slips should be not less 
than four times the width of the largest vessels using 
them. 



RAILWAY TERMINAL FACILITIES 195 

Coal piers should be open piers, and, where possible, 
cog 1 should be dumped from drop-bottom or side-dump 
cars through bins and chutes directly into the vessels, 
by gravity. Where, however, elevating machinery or 
derricks are used, elevated dumps are not necessary. 

Station piers, served by car-floats, may be from 600 
to 800 feet in length, and from 125 to 150 feet in width, 
with a depressed driveway through the center not less 
than 35 feet wide. The pier should be inclosed, and 
usually has provision made for a storage, or a second 
floor for offices and storage-rooms. Station piers should 
have slips from 150 to 200 feet in width. 



RAILROAD SIGNALING 

CHARLES A. DUNHAM, SIGNAL ENGINEER, GREAT 
NORTHERN RAILWAY 

In the operation of a railroad the question of signal- 
ing is one of growing importance, and more attention 
is being paid to it each year. As the subject is of great 
breadth, it will, however, be impossible here to deal 
with more than its fundamental principles. Almost 
from the first inception of the railroad the necessity for 
some means of protecting trains was made evident, 
and the present methods are developments of the 
rudimentary expedients first used. 

The subject of signaling divides itself naturally 
into two headings: interlocking signals, used at junc- 
tions, grade crossings, yards, or sidings; and block 
signals, used for the spacing of trains, with the object 
that rear-end, head-end, or other collisions may be 
avoided. As stated, it was early found that some 
method of protecting trains was absolutely necessary; 
and this can the more easily be understood when it 
is remembered that the electric telegraph was not used 
in connection with railroad operation until about the 
year 1840. Up to that time trains were operated and 
meeting-points made by the time card. Under this 
method of operation it is not difficult to see the possi- 
bility of collisions, and, to' overcome this difficulty, sem- 
aphore signals were installed certain distances apart, a 
man being stationed at each signal to operate it. The 

196 



RAILROAD SIGNALING 197 

semaphore, prior to its application to railroad opera- 
tion, had been used as far back as 1767 for the trans- 
mission of messages at considerable distances. This 
early type of semaphore has gone through several 
modifications. At present it consists of a blade or 
blades pivoted on a mast and fitted with colored 
glasses, so that its indications may be read by night 
as well as by day. These indications are given by a 
horizontal position of the blade for the "stop" signal, 
and an inclined position of the blade for the "proceed" 
signal. Like information is given at night by the dis- 
play of colored lights, red indicating "stop," and 
green or white "proceed." When green is used for 
the "clear" night signal, yellow is frequently used as 
the "caution" signal. 

As the time of the men engaged in operating these 
signals was not very fully occupied, it became the prac- 
tice to connect switches in the vicinity of the semaphore 
by means of mechanical lines of connection, and these 
switches were operated by the signal men with levers 
from a central point. This crude method of signaling 
led to mistakes, and very probably to accidents, as 
trains were at times turned on to 1 the wrong tracks 
through carelessness or oversight of the signal men. 

In the year 1856 a simple lock between the levers 
was introduced by Mr. Saxby. It was not until 1859, 
however, that Saxby & Farmer, and Stevens & Sons, 
took out patents; the former for the spindle locking, 
and the latter for the tappet locking. As originally ap- 
plied, this locking was attached directly to the lever; 
but, on account of the severe strain that could be put 



198 RAILWAY ORGANIZATION AND WORKING 

upon the lever, this was not found to be satisfactory, and 
toward the end of the same year patents were taken out 
in which the locking was applied to the latch of the 
lever. This is the method now in use. 

Just here we will consider what an interlocking 
plant is. It usually consists of a number of switches, 
derails, and signals connected with levers located in a 
tower-house building at a central point. These levers 
are so interlocked that it is impossible for the lever- 
man to' set clear signals for the passage of trains 
on conflicting routes. The combinations as arranged 
in the interlocking are such that the switches and lock- 
ing devices must all be properly set before the signals 
can be cleared, and when the signals are cleared, the 
locking precludes the changing of the switches or 
derails until the signals have been restored to their 
normal position, which is the "stop" or "caution" 
position, as the case may be. 

One of the first interlocking plants used in this 
country was installed at Spuyten Duyvil Junction in 
New York City in 1874. This interlocking machine 
was very similar to those we now have in use, and it is 
preserved, I am informed, in the Field Columbian 
Museum. From the small beginning made at Spuyten 
Duyvil, signaling has grown steadily, and in later 
years especially has developed rapidly. The demand 
for signal devices today is such that we have several 
large signal-manufacturing plants, capable of turning 
out hundreds of levers per day. In speaking of levers, 
I include all of the equipment that goes with them. All 
of the interlocking plants installed in the earlier days 



RAILROAD SIGNALING 199 

were of the mechanical type. During the last ten or 
fifteen years it has been found desirable to use power 
systems of interlocking at the larger plants. In fact, 
today most railroads use power systems where more 
than fifty or sixty levers are used. I know of one little 
power interlocking machine, used in Iowa, which has 
only two levers, and a charging plant to provide the 
power for the two levers was installed especially for 
that purpose. 

The power systems of interlocking now in vogue 
may be said to be three in number — namely : the "low- 
pressure pneumatic'' system, the "electro-pneumatic" 
system and the "all-electric" system. Under the low- 
pressure pneumatic system the plant is purely me- 
chanical, and the switch and signal operations are 
accomplished by compressed air, usually at a pressure 
of about two atmospheres. The electro-pneumatic sys- 
tem is used extensively. It varies from the low-pres- 
ure pneumatic system in that the control of the air- 
valves in the operating mechanism, as also the return 
indications, are electrical. It is necessary that the 
lever-man know that the switch or signal has followed 
the lever movement ; and, to accomplish this, the inter- 
locking machine is so controlled that the locking is not 
released until the switch or signal movement has been 
completed. The release of the locking is necessarily 
accomplished prior to the clearing of a signal. The 
pneumatic system of interlocking can frequently be 
used to great advantage. This is especially true where 
air-pressure is available, which is often the case, as 
compressed air is used for various purposes on a rail- 



200 RAILWAY ORGANIZATION AND WORKING 

road. When it is necessary to instal a power plant 
solely for the purpose of compressing air for an inter- 
locking plant, the cost of the power is considerable. 

The third power system of interlocking is the all- 
electric system;. Under this system each switch, derail, 
and signal is equipped with a motor, and the motors 
are controlled through the interlocking machine. The 
electric power required is usually taken from a storage 
battery. One of these storage batteries, of 150 ampere 
hours' capacity, will, when fully charged, provide power 
for the operation of a large and busy interlocking 
plant for a period of seven or eight days ; and when we 
consider the fact that the storage battery can be charged 
in a few hours at a very small cost, the advantages of 
the all-electric system are apparent. One of the chief 
advantages of the power systems of interlocking over 
the mechanical system is that the switches and signals 
can be operated at much greater distances, while the 
cost of operation and maintenance, if the plant is a 
large one, is reduced. 

Now, having outlined the interlocking systems as 
applied on railroads, let us consider the block systems 
of signaling. Practically only four systems of block 
signaling are in use at the present time — namely, the 
''telegraph block," the "controlled manual block," the 
"staff block," and the "automatic block" systems. Be- 
fore going farther, it might be well to define what we 
mean by a "block" as understood in railroad signaling. 

A block is a section of track governed by a home 
signal, and the object of dividing the line into sections 
is to> prevent twoi trains from occupying a section of 



RAILROAD SIGNALING , 201 

track at the same time. These blocks may be of any 
length consistent with the economic operation of trains. 
As the first division of the four systems of block signal- 
ing we will consider the telegraph block. Under this 
system the signals are located at given distances along 
the railroad, usually two or three miles apart, and men 
are provided at each block cabin to> operate the signals. 
Means of communication between block cabins are pro- 
vided either by telegraph or by telephone, and may be 
accompanied by a system of bell signals, whereby the 
block operators communicate with one another. This 
system of block signaling is very simple and has been 
found to> be quite effective. 

As an improvement on the telegraph block system 
we have the controlled manual block system. By this 
is meant that, with this system in force, a block 
operator cannot clear the signal at his own station 
without the co-operation of the operator in advance of 
the proposed train movement. The advantages of this 
feature are very apparent, and they are made possible 
by applying electric locks to* each signal. For instance, 
let us suppose that we have three block stations of the 
controlled manual type in use — A, B, and C. The 
block operator at station A has a train ready te> pro- 
ceed toward station B. The block operator at A must 
communicate with the block operator at B, and if the 
block is clear between A and B, the block operator at 
B will unlock the electric lock on the signal at A, and 
the operator at A will clear his signal and permit the 
train to proceed toward B. The block operator at B 
therefore has knowledge of the approach of the train 



202 RAILWAY ORGANIZATION AND WORKING 

"■> : I 
from A, and he in turn will make arrangements with 
the operator at C for the unlocking of the signal at B. 
This method is continued for the entire distance covered 
by the manual block system. It will be seen that by 
this arrangement all of the block operators are check- 
ing each other, and that each operator has full and 
complete knowledge of all train movements being made 
in the blocks on either side of his own station. Under 
this arrangement train movements can be made safely 
and expeditiously. This system is one which origi- 
nated, I believe, in England. As to* the construction 
cost of the controlled manual block system, I may add 
that the locking devices are the only additional expense 
over and above that of the telegraph block system, and 
experience has shown that the controlled manual block 
system is much superior to the ordinary telegraph 
block. 

Under the controlled manual system it is possible 
materially to cut down the number of train orders 
issued by the Train Dispatcher, and an additional 
advantage of great importance can be provided by 
connecting the passing-track and other main-track 
switches, and placing them under the control of the 
block operator. When these features are provided, 
trains which are required to> leave the main track at 
meeting-points are turned on to the side-tracks by the 
block operators, the switches are reset for the main 
track, and the train of superior right is allowed to pass. 
During the time this movement has been under way 
the train which took the siding may be pulled to the 
far end of such siding, and is again allowed to pro- 



RAILROAD SIGNALING 203 

ceed on its way by the block operator clearing the 
advance signal. 

These facilities for handling trains are of great 
advantage ; and it is my opinion that the day will come 
when trains may be handled with perfect safety on 
a single track without the giving of a single train order 
to the train crews. The dispatchers will give all orders 
to the telegraph operators who will execute the orders 
and control the trains by means of the signals provided 
at their respective stations. I freely admit that this 
would be a radical departure from established practice, 
but I am convinced that the details can and will be 
worked out which will make this method of railroad 
operation entirely practicable. 

The "staff" system is an English invention, and is 
used quite extensively throughout Great Britain. As 
installed, it consists of a staff instrument placed at the 
beginning and end of each block, the instrument con- 
taining staffs of metal which are held in a receiver. 
The staff instruments at each end of the block are inter- 
locked electrically, so that, if the staff is taken out of 
one instrument, both instruments are locked until the 
staff is returned to one or other of them, when another 
staff may be taken out. In operation the engine-man 
secures a staff at one instrument, which gives him right 
of way to the next staff instrument, where he deposits 
the staff belonging to the block which he has just 
cleared. Here he secures another staff for the next 
block ahead, and in this way makes sure that he has a 
clear block ahead, as he is in possession of the staff 
controlling that block. From this description it may 



204 RAILWAY ORGANIZATION AND WORKING 

be inferred that there is a great deal of time lost 
through trains stopping to deposit and receive staffs. 
In actual operation trains are not ordinarily required 
to stop at staff offices. The engine-man throws the 
staff covering the block which he is leaving to the block 
operator, and in turn receives from the block operator 
a staff controlling the block he is about to* enter. This 
method of handling the staffs can be followed success- 
fully at speeds up to thirty miles an hour. When trains 
operate at speeds of over thirty miles an hour, some 
railroads equip their locomotives with catching devices. 
These devices, in some respects, are similar to those 
employed on postal cars for catching mail. When 
catching devices are employed, the staffs are placed in 
suitable pouches, and these pouches can be picked up at 
a speed even as great as sixty miles an hour. It is not 
probable that the staff system will be employed exten- 
sively where trains are operated at high speeds. The 
system can, however, be used to very great advantage, 
particularly on stretches of gauntlet track, or where 
trains of several divisions, or perhaps of several rail- 
roads, are operated for considerable distances over one 
pair of rails. In a situation of this kind the ordinary 
train-order system is abandoned, and all train move- 
ments are controlled absolutely by the staff system. 

The staff system is susceptible of many variations. 
For instance, should it be desirable to hold two men 
responsible for train movements — and this might be 
true, we will say, at a tunnel where a pusher engine is 
used — the divided staff is employed, half of the staff 
being given to the engine-man in the ordinary manner, 



RAILROAD SIGNALING 205 

and the other half to the engine-man in charge of the 
pusher engine; the block being held until the divided 
halves of the staff have been joined together and placed 
in the staff instrument at the opposite end of the block. 
If the staff system is employed through a yard where a 
good many light engine movements or switching move- 
ments are made, the main-track switches can be equip- 
ped with staff locks. With this arrangement in effect 
a light engine or switch crew is given a staff, and is 
allowed to proceed into the block, the block being held 
until the crew has returned or passed through the block 
and the staff has been deposited at the staff office. Thus 
the none too uncommon collision between the through 
train and a switch engine or switch train in the yard 
is avoided. A point which should not be overlooked 
is that, under the staff system, the possession of the 
staff gives the train full right to use the block in either 
direction — an advantage not provided in any other 
block signal system. A great many signal engineers 
are now alive to' the advantage of having a pair of staff 
instruments available for immediate use in cases of 
emergency, such as are sometimes occasioned by the 
necessity of turning the traffic of a double-track rail- 
road on to a single track temporarily. The staff sys- 
tem, in a case of this kind, can be put in effect inside 
of a few hours ; all that is needed to handle the traffic 
with absolute safety is the staff instruments and a pair 
of ordinary telegraph wires between the junction 
points, and a few cells of dry batteries. 

We have now briefly considered the telegraph block 
system, the controlled manual block system, and the 



206 RAILWAY ORGANIZATION AND WORKING 

staff system. In conclusion I may state that the 
expense of installing the telegraph block is nominal. A 
well-regulated controlled manual system can be 
installed at a cost of about $200 per mile of railroad. 
These figures are on the basis of installing the signal 
equipments in established telegraph offices. Where it 
is necessary to erect block cabins, the cost of such 
cabins should be added. Suitable cabins can be erected 
at about $200 each. The cost of installing the staff 
system is about the same as the cost of installing the 
controlled manual system. 

Before proceeding to discuss the automatic block 
signal systems, I wish to state that the manual block 
systems already considered are .extensively applied to 
single-track railroads, while the automatic block signal 
system is, generally speaking, intended for use on 
double track. The automatic block signal is today 
installed in only two forms, namely, the semaphore and 
the inclosed disk. Some railroads continue to use the 
inclosed disk, because they believe it to be more efficient, 
quite as safe, and more economical than the semaphore 
type of signal. However, the semaphore type is more 
generally recognized, and undoubtedly a very large per- 
centage of all the automatic block signals now being 
installed are of this type. 

Everybody is familiar with the semaphore signals 
as seen along our railways, and while their significance 
may not be fully appreciated by the uninitiated, they 
are the guiding stars to safety for the engine-men and 
train-men. In order fully to appreciate this, I would 
advise a trip in the engine-cab over a railroad full of 



RAILROAD SIGNALING 207 

curves and grades, and over which a large volume of 
important traffic is moved. The engine-man, with 
reason, places absolute confidence in the signal indica- 
tions, and when the signals indicate "clear," he pro- 
ceeds with full assurance that the way is clear. When 
a signal indicates "clear," the engine-man knows that 
the block ahead is not only free from trains, but that 
all the switches in that block are set for the main 
track; and he further knows that the cars and engines 
on the side-tracks all stand clear of the main line. 

Automatic block signals may be and are erected to 
suit the peculiar conditions of the road signaled. I 
understand that in the underground railway in New 
York City the block signals in some cases are only 500 
feet apart, and that trains pass over these blocks on 
their regular schedules a minute or less apart. On sur- 
face roads the length o>f block varies from one-quarter 
of a mile to four or five miles. I believe, however, I may 
safely state that the signal engineers of the country are 
agreed that it is not the best practice to instal extremely 
long blocks. An admirable installation of block signals, 
which lately came under my observation, consisted of 
blocks slightly less than twoi miles in length. Under 
this arrangement of signaling it was only necessary to 
place two cuts in the track circuit between each home 
signal. Each of these signal masts carried two> arms, 
the upper arm in each case being the home or stop 
signal, and the lower arm being the caution or distant 
signal. Now, an engine-man running under these 
signals, and receiving two clear signals at the entrance 
to a block, knows that not only the block he is entering 



208 RAILWAY ORGANIZATION AND WORKING 

is clear, but that the second block ahead is also clear. 
In other words, the engine-man receiving twoi clear 
signals in effect is told that four miles of railroad ahead 
of him are clear and free from trains, and that the 
switches are all set for the main track. It might be 
suggested that during the interval, while the train is 
covering the four miles of track, it would be possible 
for an engine or train to leave a passing track and 
occupy the main track in advance of the approaching 
train. Of this there is no doubt; but, to guard against 
this very possibility, the main-track switches are all pro- 
vided either with bells, which will ring when a train 
is in the block, or with miniature signals o>f the sema- 
phore type, which will give indication of a train in the 
block. In other words, when the block is clear and 
no train approaching, the little semaphore at the switch 
will indicate safety. When a train is in the block, this 
same little semaphore will assume the horizontal posi- 
tion and indicate danger, and train-men are not allowed 
to open a switch while the switch indicators stand at 
danger. I may say that, under the automatic blocking 
as installed today, all of the railroads are following 
practically the same system. One of the variations is 
that on some roads the signals stand normally in the 
"clear" or "proceed" position, while on others they 
stand normally in the "stop" or "danger" position. A 
good deal may be said of the relative merits of the two 
methods, and there is' some difference of opinion as to 
the better plan. 

When automatic signals are used, the rails in the 
tracks are bonded and cut into track sections by means 



RAILROAD SIGNALING 209 

of insulating the rails from each other at intervals. 
Each track section is provided with a battery, usually 
of the gravity type, and a relay. The relay, while a 
section of track is not occupied by a train, is closed, 
and is opened by a train entering the block. The 
signals, in turn, are governed by means of contacts 
made by the track relays. The proper care and main- 
tenance of the track sections is one of the important 
features which must receive very careful attention in 
automatic-block-signal maintenance. However, neglect 
in maintenance will not bring about dangerous condi- 
tions. When any part of the signal apparatus fails to 
operate properly, the signal will always give the danger 
indication. 

Ordinarily the automatic block signal is operated 
either by compressed air or by electricity. At the pres- 
ent time a very considerable number of signals are 
being installed which are operated by carbonic-acid gas ; 
and it may be of interest to know that an average of 
200 signal operations can be obtained from each pound 
of gas. Each signal is provided with duplicate flasks 
of gas, and under ordinary traffic conditions, one flask 
of gas (fifty pounds) will furnish the power to operate 
a signal for a period of from six to* nine months. 
When electricity is used as the power to operate the 
signal, each signal is provided with a motor, and the 
current is frequently taken from primary batteries. 
These batteries have been perfected to* a very high 
standard, which may be appreciated more fully when I 
state that one set of cells, with practically no attention 
and no renewals whatever, will frequently operate a 



210 RAILWAY ORGANIZATION AND WORKING 

signal on an average of thirty times a day for a period 
of from fifteen to eighteen months. 

When the signals are operated by compressed air, 
it is usually on a very busy railroad, having not less 
than four tracks. The compressed air, generally, is 
used to operate the interlocked switches and signals, 
and may be used for other purposes along that par- 
ticular line. Under ordinary conditions, it probably 
would not be advisable to use compressed air to operate 
the signals on one or two> tracks, owing to> the expense 
of compressing the air and piping* it along the railroad. 

I believe the automatic block signal to be entirely 
reliable, and years of experience with it by a great 
many railroads will bear me out in this statement. 
Quite recently Mr. Piatt, reporter for the International 
Railway Congress, gathered exhaustive data, the result 
of which shows that we can expect almost perfect 
service; the actual figures showing one signal failure 
to 22,000 signal operations. Now, on the average 
railroad a signal will not perform over 15,000 signal 
operations in a year; it is therefore apparent that the 
railroad manager is not prepared to accept very many 
excuses for block signals failing and causing unneces- 
sary interruptions to trains. 

During the last year or two> a good deal has been 
said about the use of storage batteries in connection 
with block signaling, and I think we are all agreed 
that the storage battery under favorable conditions 
can be used to' very great advantage. However, for 
some time to come at least, the primary cell will hold its 
own. At the present stage of development, over the 



RAILROAD SIGNALING 211 

greater part of this country, it would not be advisable 
to go to the expense of installing power stations and 
distributing lines for the sole purpose of providing 
electric current for block-signal operation. 

In conclusion, it may be said that, under all ordinary 
conditions, a railroad can be well protected by auto- 
matic block signals' at a cost of about $800 per mile 
of track, and, making allowance for depreciation and 
interest on this investment, the operation and main- 
tenance of the system will cost slightly less than 20 per 
cent, per annum on the original investment. 



CLASSIFICATION AND TYPES OF LOCOMO- 
TIVES 

C. A. SELEY, MECHANICAL ENGINEER, ROCK ISLAND 

SYSTEM 

I. CLASSIFICATION OF LOCOMOTIVES 

Boys living in seaboard towns become expert in 
classifying seagoing vessels by their general outline 
and sail arrangement; railroad men have to know the 
characteristics' of their locomotives by definite terms, so 
as clearly to> differentiate them. To the layman an 
engine is an engine, whether there are four or four- 
teen wheels under it; and, as it is mainly by the 
wheel arrangement that engines are classified or named, 
this branch of the subject may be taken up with profit. 

A steam locomotive is a machine, in most cases de- 
signed for a definite end in handling freight or pas- 
senger equipment, and is therefore subject to> mathe- 
matical analysis' as to< its power. This is generally ex- 
pressed by the tractive power, the formula for which 
will be familiar. Stationary engines are rated by their 
horse-power ; so that, when one speaks of a fifty-horse- 
power engine, a relative idea of the machine is con- 
veyed to the mind. This' impression is made more 
exact by defining the type — as to whether it is simple 
or compound, throttling or automatic, horizontal or 
vertical, etc. The term "horse-power" cannot be ap- 
plied to locomotives in a comparative way, as some of 
the heaviest and most powerful ones exert only a mod- 



CLASSIFICATION AND TYPES OF LOCOMOTIVES 213 

erate horse-power. Locomotive horse-power is con- 
stantly varying with changes o>f speed and the adjust- 
ment of the valve gearing. The latter is also> true of 
stationary engines', which are generally arranged for a 
certain speed, and a nominal rating calculated for that 
speed on an economical mean effective pressure; while 
the locomotive rating is based on the tractive power. 

Most railroads have a variety of locomotive equip- 
ment, and, in order distinctly to define each lot or kind 
for records, drawings, patterns, and repair parts, the 
Motive Power Departments coin for themselves classi- 
fications, using numerals or letters, or both, in a purely 
arbitrary fashion. The Pennsylvania Railroad, for in- 
stance, uses the letter "A" for engines having two 
pairs' of drivers and no> trucks, "B" for three pairs, and 
"C" for four pairs; "D" is used for two* pairs of 
drivers, and four-wheeled truck; "E," for two pairs of 
drivers', four-wheel leading and two-wheel trailing 
trucks; "F" has three pairs' of drivers, and two-wheel 
truck; "G," the same arrangement of drivers and four- 
wheel truck; and "H" has four pairs of drivers and 
two-wheel truck. This, it will be seen, is purely arbi- 
trary and has to be memorized in order mentally to 
grasp the type. Then they take each differing lot of 
engines and give them numerical designations, adding 
these to the type-letters. Thus' they have "A-i," 
"A-2," "A-3," etc., to show different groups of "A" 
engines. This is further extended by suffixing a letter 
for subsequent additions to> any class where there are 
relatively slight changes. For instance, "D-13" class 
gets an addition of some engines with a slightly differ- 



214 RAILWAY ORGANIZATION AND WORKING 

ent diameter of wheels, but with no other important 
change, and they would be designated "D-13-a;" the 
suffix being changed to< "b" on the next revision. 
Many railroads' do* not endeavor to show the type in 
their motive-power classification symbols, but use let- 
ters or numbers, singly or in combination. There are 
not enough letters in the alphabet to* show all the classes 
on some roads. 

The Rock Island System uses a numerical motive- 
power classification — 1, 2, 3, 4, etc. — adding a sub- 
letter for modified classes— "4-A," " 4 -B," "4-Q" for 
instance, being successive modifications of Class 4. 
The majority of repair parts are common to all. This 
system is also arbitrary and gives no' clue to> the uniniti- 
ated as to' what kind or size of engine is in each class. 

The so-called "Whyte classification" gives succes- 
sively the number of wheels in the truck, drivers', and 
trailer, as, e. g., "2-6-0," "4-4-2," etc. This system 
is convenient in some ways, and is used by the Ameri- 
can Locomotive Company, and others, the total weight 
of the engine in thousands of pounds being added. 
Thus, "4-6-0-180" expresses' a ten- wheel engine 
weighing 180,000 pounds. 

At a Master Mechanics' Association convention a 
few years ago', it was proposed by Mr. R. P. C. San- 
derson to- classify engines by suggestive letters — as "T" 
for ten-wheel, "C" for consolidation, etc. — adding a 
number to' show the thousands of pounds of tractive 
power, or the percentage of 100,000 pounds. Thus, 
"T-30" would be a ten- wheeler of approximately 30.- 
000 pounds' tractive power. This system possesses 



CLASSIFICATION AND TYPES OF LOCOMOTIVES 215 

considerable merit, the simple symbol conveying 1 a 
definite idea as to> the type and power of the engine. 
There are, however, about thirty-five possible wheel 
arrangements, and it is not always feasible to pick out 
suggestive letters. 

This and the Whyte systems cannot be used as Mo- 
tive Power Department classifications, as particular 
groups or individual engines cannot be identified. To 
illustrate, suppose an order is received for a back cyl- 
inder head for a "4—4-0" engine or for a "T-30" en- 
gine. The "4-4-0" symbol covers every eight- wheel 
engine on the road of all sizes and makes, and the 
"T-30" may include a number of lots on which the 
details are not similar. It is therefore necessary to 
have a distinctive motive-power class designation, in 
order to make proper records, orders, and statistics'. It 
is not likely, however, that a common system will ever 
be used by all roads which now differ. To make such 
a change would involve much trouble in fixing up his- 
torical, pattern, and drawing records, and in establish- 
ing the terms of the new classification in the minds' of 
all concerned. 

Some roads do not even have a distinctive classifica- 
tion, but refer to> the engines by numbers or series, as 
the "400 class," etc. This is not a good practice, as 
the records get woefully mixed up when engine num- 
bers are changed, which is often the case with a grow- 
ing system. On a large railway system the number of 
motive-power classes is necessarily large and beyond 
the capacity of retention of any ordinary memory. In 
the Motive Power Department of the Rock Island sys- 



216 RAILWAY ORGANIZATION AND WORKING 

tern we do not find this, an embarrassment, as we have 
aids, for the memory in registers and equipment books 
and lists. 

Other departments, however, are not interested in 
many of the minor differences between various lots of 
engines, which may be of the same type and similar 
hauling capacity. For these departments a classifica- 
tion giving one symbol for all engines similar in type 
and power is desirable, so as not to* burden them with 
the minute details of the motive-power classification. 
Such a classification may be called a "road" classifica- 
tion, in distinction from the other. One having a letter 
indicating the type, and a numeral showing the thou- 
sands of pounds of tractive power, is convenient and 
useful. As these symbols are sometimes used over the 
wires, the letters' must be chosen with reference to> easy 
telegraphing with the numbers. The letters in use on 
the Rock Island System are as follows : simple engines' 
—eight- wheel, "B;" ten-wheel, "D;" "Consolidation," 
"C;" "Atlantic," "A;" "Pacific," "N;" "Mogul," "G;" 
"Suburban," "K;" four-wheel switch, "H;" six-wheel 
switch, "J;" compound engines — ten-wheel, "F;" "Con- 
solidation," "Q;" "Atlantic," "W." Thus, we have 
eight- wheel engines from 10,000 to 19,000 pounds' trac- 
tive power, expressed as "B-10," "B-n," "B-12," etc., 
up to "B-19;" ten-wheel engines, from "D-14" 
"D-31 ;" "Consolidations," from "C-25" to "C-40." 

When once comprehended, this symbol gives a rela- 
tive idea of the type and power of the engines; and 
this is mainly what the transportation people want. If 
they want to know the size of wheels or the tank 



CLASSIFICATION AND TYPES OF LOCOMOTIVES 217 

capacity, or to obtain other special information, it is 
readily available from the equipment books and lists. 
If a new engine comes on a division, its tonnage ca- 
pacity is known at once by the road class numeral. Our 
tonnage rating-books for each division have columns 
headed by numbers — 10, 11, 12, etc., up to our highest 
tractive-power symbol — and by having each engine 
marked and recorded, tonnage ratings' can be assigned 
without delay or calculation. 

II. TYPES OF LOCOMOTIVES 

Having now disposed of classification, we will con- 
sider types of locomotives. The simplest wheel arrange- 
ments are those of switching engines. These generally 
have six wheels, although there are many old four- 
wheel and a few modern eight-wheel engines. These 
engines have to go* around sharp curvature into indus- 
trials tracks, and modern six-wheel switchers are built 
with a wheel base not exceeding eleven feet, while the 
four-wheelers average about seven feet six inches. The 
eight-wheel switchers are used only in heavy classifica- 
tion yards, where it is advisable to have switching 
engines heavy enough to* handle singly any train that 
may come in or be made up to go out, for distribution, 
weighing, or setting. 

These switching engines, according to the Whyte 
system, are 0—4-0, 0-6-0, or 0-8-0, depending on the 
number of wheels. The entire weight of the engine is 
available for adhesion, and six-wheel switchers run 
generally from 90,000 to 150,000 pounds' weight. Be- 
sides switching engines', about the only other type, used 



218 RAILWAY ORGANIZATION AND WORKING 

in this' country, that does not employ a leading-truck is 
the "Forney" engine, used principally for light elevated 
and suburban service, where an engine should run 
equally well in either direction. The "Forneys" have 
two or three pairs of drivers, with four or six wheels 
carrying the tender portion of the engine, which is on 
an extension of the main frames. The Whyte classifi- 
cation for these is 0-4-4, o-°~4, °~4~6, or 0-6-6, and 
they are called "four-coupled" or "six-coupled For- 
neys," as indicated by the drivers. 

Many "double-enders," as engines to run in both di- 
rections are called, have a two-wheeled leading-truck, 
and are named "four-" or "six-coupled double-enders," 
as the case may be. They are expressed by the Whyte 
symbols as 2-4-4, 2-6-4, 2-4-6, or 2-6-6. It would be 
possible to build a 2-8-6, but that is hardly desirable. 
The Rock Island has some 2-6-6 engines with 107,000 
pounds' on drivers, and a total weight, in working 
order, of 194,700 pounds'; but these are exceeded by the 
New York Central engines of the same type, with 128,- 
000 on drivers, and a total weight of 214,000 pounds. 
The Illinois Central employs forty engines in its Chi- 
cagoi suburban service, with the following wheel ar- 
rangements: 2-4-4, 2-4-6, 2-6-4, an d 4-6-4. The 
use of four-wheel leading-trucks on this type of engine 
is not common, but it is possible to< make the following 
combinations : 4-4-4, 4-6-4, 4-4-6, and 4-6-6. These 
engines have a limited coal and water capacity. For a 
general summary of information regarding engines of 
this class reference may be made to> an article on "Tank 
Locomotives," by Mr. E. E. R. Tratman in the En- 



CLASSIFICATION AND TYPES OF LOCOMOTIVES 219 

gineering News, for February 16, 1905; also a paper, 
with the same title, read at the last meeting O'f the 
Western Railway Club. 

Taking up the other classes having a two-wheeled 
leading-truck, but no trailer, we have the 2-4-0, built 
only for light service, contractors' use, etc., and called a 
"four-coupled engine." Next is the "Mogul" type, 
having a 2-6-0 arrangement of wheels. This' type is 
not now so extensively built, although a great favorite 
on many roads. It is hard on the track when very 
heavy, and in some quarters is regarded with suspicion 
as prone to derailment. On the other hand, the Chi- 
cago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad is noted as a suc- 
cessful user of the "Mogul" type in very fast service. 
The formula of the American Locomotive Company 
for the proper length of the radius bar of two-wheel 
trucks may be of interest and value in investigations 

of "Mogul" trucks. It is as follows: R== JX^ x - 8 5> 

where A= the distance from the truck to the farthest 
driver, B= the distance from the truck to the nearest 
driver, and R= the radius intersecting the truck axle 
center line on the horizontal center line of the engine. 
The remaining types of this group are the 2-8-0 
and the 2-10-0, named, respectively, the "Consolida- 
tion" and the "Decapod" types. The "Consolidation" 
is a favorite type for heavy freight service. When of 
medium weight, it is very easy on the track, and a 
large percentage of the weight is available for adhesion. 
The heaviest "Consolidation" of which I have record 
is an engine on the Pittsburg & Lake Erie Railway, 



220 RAILWAY ORGANIZATION AND WORKING 

with 225,000 pounds on the drivers'. The Rock Island 
has 100 "Consolidation" engines with 180,000 pounds 
on drivers. But I believe that for a general all-around 
engine, for the average western track, 160,000 pounds 
would be a better figure. The "Decapods" have an 
additional pair of drivers, and are used mainly on heavy 
mountain grades and in pusher service. 

We will now consider the groups with four-wheel 
leading-trucks and various driver arrangements. First 
is the 4-4-0, the so-called "American" type or eight- 
wheeler — the pioneer and best known of the older en- 
gines, which has brought about the greatness of the 
American railway systems. Old runners wish that 
nothing else had ever been invented. One hundred 
thousand pounds is about the limit on the drivers, and 
the great majority run far below that. Not many are 
now being built; but we shall have to 1 have them, and 
light ten-wheelers, for many a day on branch-line 
service. Next comes the 4-6-0, or ten-wheeler — a de- 
sign very extensively built, with from 100,000 to 140,- 
000 pounds on drivers. Many roads' do not have any 
heavier types than this, believing it best adapted to 
business such as we have in the Middle West, with 
moderate gradients, a large proportion of the traffic 
being fast freight and stock movement. If we add 
another pair of drivers to this type, we have the 4-8-0, 
or twelve- wheeler ; and, if still another, the 4-10-0, or 
"Mastodon." These latter types are not common, being 
used mainly for mountain service. 

The next groups comprise various driver arrange- 
ments with two»-wheel trucks leading and trailing. 



CLASSIFICATION AND TYPES OF LOCOMOTIVES 221 

Trailing-trucks are comparatively new in American 
railway practice, having been introduced to meet the 
necessity of supporting the back end of fire-boxes wider 
than would go between driving-wheels. The 2-4-2, or 
"Columbia," type has been tried, but has not proved 
very successful. The 2-6-2, or "Prairie," type origi- 
nated in the West, as its' name indicates, and adds a 
trailer to the "Mogul" type, permitting a shorter, 
wider fire-box. The 2-8-2, or "Mikado," type adds a 
trailer to> the "Consolidation;" and the 2-10-2 is the 
"Mountaineer," for special service. 

The next group employs a trailer for the same obj ect 
as the preceding, but with a four-wheel leading-truck. 
The first type is the 4-2-2, or "single-driver," engine. 
Very few of these have been built in this country, but 
they can be found abroad. The 4-4-2 is our familiar 
friend, the eight-wheeler with a trailer, now called the 
"Atlantic" type. The increased fire-box area makes 
this a favorite engine for heavy, fast passenger service 
on low-grade lines. It is the most expensive engine in 
the proportion of total weight to 1 tractive effort, as but 
one-half its weight is available for adhesion. If we 
add a trailer to carry a wide fire-box of a ten-wheeler, 
we have the 4-6-2, or "Pacific," type — a comparatively 
new one, but finding favor in heavy, fast passenger 
work on grades. This type has the disadvantage of re- 
quiring very long tubes — twenty feet in some cases. 
Length of tubes is' of no advantage for heating surface 
in this case, and the spaces or bridges between the 
tubes have to be increased, lessening their number. The 
Pacific type makes up for this by the increased fire-box 



222 RAILWAY ORGANIZATION AND WORKING 

and grate surfaces, so that the difficulties named are 
not vital, although more trouble is experienced in car- 
ing for long tubes than for shorter ones. 

It will be noted that most of these developments' 
have been brought about by the demands for steam, to 
accommodate additional boiler capacity. Years ago the 
fire-boxes were deep, down between the frames and be- 
tween the axles, with a grate surface about thirty-three 
inches wide. Gradually the length was increased until 
the side-rods got pretty long and the rigid wheel base 
more than was desirable. Then the water legs were 
shortened, permitting the axles to run under the fire- 
box. Later the fire-box was put on top of the frames', 
permitting the widening of them to> take a grate forty- 
two inches wide. This has been very extensively prac- 
ticed; but, even with this width, the demand for grate 
surface has been such as to make the boxes nine and ten 
feet long, and rather difficult to fire. This has resulted 
in spreading the fire-boxes out over the back drivers, 
when O'f moderate size; and in order to keep the front 
ends down so as to have some depth below the bottom 
rows of tubes, many engines have a hump cr break in 
the line of the grates, which is difficult to keep covered 
in firing. The tendency of late has been to get the fire- 
box back of the drivers and support it with a trailing 
truck, as noticed in the various' types mentioned. A 
width of box of about sixty-six inches is employed, 
which can be readily fired from one door, and the 
length can be made to suit the capacity desired. In the 
East, where suitable fuel is found, there are a great 
many Wooten boilers used. These are of extreme 



CLASSIFICATION AND TYPES OF LOCOMOTIVES 223 

width, and the construction necessitates separating the 
runner and the fireman. They are not used to a great 
extent in the West. 

The demands on present-day locomotives for speed 
and hauling capacity has made the question of boiler 
development pre-eminently important; for 5 no matter 
how fine the engine may be, it is impotent unless unfail- 
ingly supplied with steam. There are heavy demands 
for steam on locomotive boilers for other purposes than 
for use in the cylinders. The length of trains has 
increased so that much larger air-pumps are in use than 
formerly; and the air is used, not only for brakes, but 
for forcing water, for bell-ringers, sanders, door- 
openers, etc. Steam is used for heating trains, and the 
demand on long trains in sub-zero weather is very 
heavy. Electric headlights are run by steam turbine 
engines and on some trains the electric-light machinery 
for car illumination is' supplied with steam from the 
long-suffering locomotive boiler. Tender tanks must 
be kept from freezing up; and the various leaks from 
the multitudinous joints of the boiler and steam pas- 
sages add their quota of demand. It is not surprising, 
therefore, that an entire change has been accomplished 
in boiler dimensions, and the ratios of boiler power to 
cylinder capacity have been greatly increased in modern 
practice. We often think that we have reached the 
limit, only to find a new development that soon becomes 
commonplace. 

We have outstripped our brethren across the water 
in the weight and power of locomotives, but we have 
much to learn from them about the refinements and 



224 RAILWAY ORGANIZATION AND WORKING 

economies which we have sacrificed in the making and 
using of steam, due to- the demands upon us for speed 
and power, in such a short time for development. I 
can remember the wood-burners with their balloon 
stacks, pumps operated from cross-heads, lubrication of 
cylinders from tallow cups on the steam-chests, hand- 
brakes, and all those things that are now looked upon 
as antiquities; and I am not looking back more than 
forty years. Neither were there any telephones', or 
electric lights and traction, in those days. We are 
living in a rapid age, and who can predict the types 
of locomotives that will be in common use forty years 
hence? The electrical engineer began prophesying, 
some years ago, about steam locomotives soon becom- 
ing museum relics ; yet there is one concern, in Philadel- 
phia, that is' turning out over fifty of these relics every 
week, and its order-books are full for months' in ad- 
vance. The combined weight of those fifty machines 
would probably make a hundred engines of the types 
of twenty years ago. Electric traction will, no doubt, 
come more into play in the near future, in competition 
with steam railways, where there is a dense traffic. 
Already New York has decreed that steam locomotives 
must not much longer enter her boundaries, and the 
railways there are preparing for electrification. Travel 
through the tunnels at Baltimore has been made more 
endurable to passengers and employees by electric loco- 
motives. The St. Clair tunnel, with its 2 per cent, 
grade is considering the electrical proposition. 

Busy electric suburban lines are teaching the steam 
roads that frequent service increases travel, and it be- 



CLASSIFICATION AND TYPES OF LOCOMOTIVES 225 

hooves every one in present or prospective railway- 
service to become acquainted with electrical engineering 
as applied to traction, power and lighting. There is no 
mystery about it. It is nearly all mechanical, after all ; 
we merely move into* another field of application, and 
our opportunities are broadened. 

It is the spirit of our times. The corner fruit-stores 
of a few years ago — what was their stock compared 
with what we see now of fruits and delicacies from air 
over the world ? What was the product of the printing- 
press, only a few years ago, as compared with the 
present-day output of books, magazines, periodicals, 
and newspapers? What of the educational opportuni- 
ties of today, as compared with those our fathers and 
grandfathers enjoyed? All this, it may be thought, has 
no reference to types of locomotives ; but we are trying 
to gain knowledge in railroading, and I wish to< impress 
the necessity and desirability of taking the broad view, 
of embracing the large present opportunities for gain- 
ing knowledge in so many directions that may, some 
day, evolve a new type or modification — perhaps only 
a small detail. But, whether ten or five or only one 
talent be gained, we shall have the satisfaction of know- 
ing that our labor has not been in vain; and that 
satisfaction is a large portion of the reward. 



THE COMPOUND LOCOMOTIVE 

W. R. MCKEEN, JR., SUPERINTENDENT OF MOTIVE POW- 
ER AND MACHINERY, UNION PACIFIC RAILROAD 

A brief history of the early development of the steam 
locomotive will serve as an introduction to the subject. 
The ancients apparently were imbued with a conception 
of the value of steam as a motive power. The philoso- 
pher Hero is' said to have demonstrated its power about 
130 B. C. He wrote a treatise explaining how the ex- 
pansive force of steam might be utilized by means of 
cylinders, valves, pistons, etc. ; and the old woodcut 
illustrations' of Hero's engine, with its revolving globe 
and reaction tubes, are familiar to 1 many. Hero's de- 
vice was followed in time by others, representing more 
or less advance in thought, but all lacking the essen- 
tial and practical features' necessary to use in everyday 
life. Coming down to the eighteenth century, it is said 
that a Dr. Robinson suggested, in 1759, the use of 
steam to propel wagons or carriages upon the public 
highways. Following his' suggestions, models were 
made by James Watt. In 1769 and 1771 other ma- 
chines were made. These in turn were followed by 
many others, of various designs. Defects in theory and 
application, coupled with excessive cost of operation 
and the poor roads of that day, prevented any of these 
engines from becoming of practical use. 

In the year 1800 Trevithick invented a machine 
which, though but a toy making its first journey on the 

226 



THE COMPOUND LOCOMOTIVE 227 

kitchen table, represents the birth of the successful loco- 
motive. Three years later Trevithick devised his first 
practical locomotive, and built one for use on the rail- 
road or tramway of that time. It was successful in all 
respects save cost of operation — being more expensive 
than the use of horse-power — and therefore was not 
given extended use. This objection was overcome in 
181 1 by John Blenkinsop, who built two* locomotives 
for use in Middleton Colliery, of which he was pro- 
prietor. 

Following these inventions, George Stephenson, in 
1 8 14, placed in operation his first locomotive, the 
"Blucher." Thus this great man, who is reputed to be 
the father of the locomotive, in reality only carried out 
an idea discovered eleven years before. 

The evolution of the locomotive since these early 
days has', without exception, been the greatest mechani- 
cal factor of our rapid growth and latter-day civiliza- 
tion. 

Until within comparatively recent years, the aim of 
designers was along the lines of increasing the general 
efficiency of the steam locomotive by perfecting the 
design of boiler and machinery, meeting, at the same 
time, the increased requirements of heavier traffic. Nu- 
merous types were designed and built, including every 
conceivable combination and arrangement of cylinders, 
wheel-base, method of transmitting power from the 
cylinders to the wheels', valve motions, types of boilers, 
manner of combustion, etc. ; out of which were grad- 
ually evolved a few recognized standard and efficient 
types. And it may be stated that all designers had 



228 RAILWAY ORGANIZATION AND WORKING 

reached practically the same uniform types, as well as' 
the same degree of efficiency in the performance of their 
various locomotives. It was recognized that a limit 
of efficiency was being approached, and, outside of 
certain refinements of details and enlargement of design 
to suit increased traffic demands, there seemed no 
probability of improvement. 

At about the same period the benefits to be derived 
from the use of steam of higher pressures and succes- 
sive expansions in different cylinders — the same as in 
marine and stationary service — began to exert their in- 
fluence upon the minds of those interested in the prob- 
lem of economics in locomotive operation. In marine 
and stationary practice, engineers had been able to ef- 
fect savings ranging from 1 5 to' as high as 40, and even 
50 per cent., based upon the performance of their old 
single-expansion engines; why, then, could not these 
economies be effected, if the mechanical difficulties 
could be surmounted, in locomotive practice? 

It is true that in this, field, as in others, sporadic 
attempts' had already been made in this direction. The 
first designer successfully to' apply the compound prin- 
ciple to' the locomotive was A. Mallet, a Frenchman, 
who in 1877 built several compound engines of the two- 
cylinder type, with starting arrangement for admitting 
steam directly to low-pressure cylinders. It was, how- 
ever, not until twelve years later, or in 1889, that the 
compound principle was applied to locomotives' in this 
country. In that year the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad 
put into service an eight-wheel compound engine of the 
"Vauclain" four-cylinder type. At this time there had 



THE COMPOUND LOCOMOTIVE 229 

been one thousand compound locomotives built in 
Europe, showing that the principle had been developed 
to a considerable degree before the designers of this 
country took hold of the idea. Since 1889, however, 
the growth of the compound locomotive has been rapid, 
numerous forms have been built and successfully oper- 
ated, and it may be assumed that today there are five 
thousand compound locomotives running in the United 
States. It will be necessary here to- confine ourselves 
to the comparatively few modern types of locomotives 
which have been successful. 

As the parent of all locomotives, credit should be 
given to the eight-wheel American engine, which has 
done more in the development of this country than any 
other type. This engine was developed in 1836, and, 
until the last decade, remained the standard type for 
passenger service throughout the country. It has 
practically given way, in the last ten years, to the more 
powerful "Atlantic" type engine, w r ith its larger boiler 
and cylinder capacity, and greater ability to reach and 
sustain high speeds with moderately heavy trains. 

The load which a locomotive can pull — that is, its 
hauling capacity — is' approximately one-fifth of the 
weight on the drivers. For practical reasons — such as 
the safety of the track, bridges, etc. — it is not advisable 
to load one pair of drivers with more than 50,000 
pounds', although this limit is sometimes slightly 
exceeded. It therefore follows that with any type of 
locomotive having but two pairs of drivers — such as 
the eight- wheel ' 'American" and "Atlantic" types — we 
soon reach a maximum of hauling capacity, and the 



230 RAILWAY ORGANIZATION AND WORKING 

limit for this design of engine. We logically pass from 
the eight-wheel type to the ten-wheel type — likewise, 
from the "Atlantic" type to> the "Pacific" type — by the 
addition of another pair of drivers, enabling us to 
increase the total weight on the drivers, and, hence, the 
hauling capacity of the engine. The demands for the 
transportation of heavier trains led our designers to 
the construction of these heavier types — namely, the 
ten-wheel, "Pacific" and "Prairie" — which, with the 
"Atlantic" type for lighter service, represent the typical 
engines in passenger service today. 

Let us now look at the other branch of transportation 
— freight service — and examine the types which here 
are in vogue. The remarks in regard to weight on 
drivers necessary to pull a certain load are equally 
applicable to> both services. 

In the early days the accepted type of freight en- 
gine was usually a six-coupled, or three-pair-drivered, 
engine, with either a two^wheel swivel truck or a four- 
wheel rigid truck ; the former being known as the "Mo- 
gul" type, and the latter as the "Ten- Wheel" type. As 
the traffic demands increased, a heavier engine became 
necessary ; the natural result being a four-pair-drivered 
engine with a two-wheel truck — termed a "Consolida- 
tion" engine. Although still heavier types, such as the 
"Decapod" and "Santa Fe" (with five pairs of drivers), 
are built for particularly heavy service conditions, we 
may safely say that the "Mogul," "Ten-Wheel," and 
"Consolidation" are the three representative types of 
freight locomotives today. 

In addition to the classes already spoken of as' repre- 



THE COMPOUND LOCOMOTIVE 231 

sentative types, there are a few recognized types of lo- 
comotives for special service. Foremost among these 
are the several designs of switch-engines ? with two, 
three, and even four pairs of drivers, with all the 
weight resting on these drivers, and without any form 
of truck. As the service of this class of locomotives 
is intermittent, larger cylinders in proportion to boiler 
capacity may be used, with the attendant advantage of 
great starting power. 

For excessive grades the rack-rail engine is a recog- 
nized type; while the "Shay" engine, with its bevel- 
gear drive, is a type for heavy grades, and may be said 
to be an intermediate design between the rack-rail and 
the ordinary traction types. 

As previously stated, the first type of compound en- 
gine to appear in France, was the two cylinder machine 
invented by Mallet in 1877. This construction neces- 
sarily implies one high-pressure and one low-pressure 
cylinder. The usual arrangement with two cylinders 
consists' in placing the high-pressure cylinder on one 
side, and the low-pressure cylinder on the other side, 
of the engine. This is called the "Two-Cylinder" or 
"Cross Compound" engine. The high-pressure cylin- 
der takes its steam directly from the boiler. Through 
the instrumentality of its valve, the steam supply is 
cut off at about half -stroke, expands to nearly the end 
of stroke, and exhausts into* a receiver at a consider- 
ably lower pressure, having done a certain amount of 
useful work in expanding against the high-pressure 
piston (in the receiver the steam receives an additional 
amount of heat). The steam remains but momentarily 



232 RAILWAY ORGANIZATION AND WORKING 

in the receiver, when another valve admits it into the 
low-pressure cylinder, where the piston has approxi- 
mately two and one-half times the area of the high- 
pressure piston. Here it undergoes another expansion, 
and thence exhausts through the stack into' the atmos- 
phere at a low pressure, usually of from about 1 7 to 20 
pounds., having done additional useful work. Keeping 
in mind that steam at 200 pounds' pressure has a 
temperature of about 387 degrees Fahrenheit, while at 
17 to 20 pounds' pressure its temperature falls to 254 
degrees — or a range of 133 degrees — it will be seen 
that, by carrying the expansion out in two> different 
stages and in two< different cylinders, the range or drop 
in temperature in each cylinder is about half what it 
would have been had the entire expansion taken place in 
one cylinder. This prevents the hot steam, when enter- 
ing the cylinders, from meeting cylinder walls of very 
much lower temperature, caused by the outgoing cooler 
steam; and thus the initial condensation, which is the 
worst factor to contend with in single-expansion 
engines, is materially decreased. Since the adoption of 
the higher steam pressures, ranging from 200 to 220 
pounds, with their attendant higher temperatures, this 
factor of initial condensation has become much more 
important than in earlier days, when such pressures did 
not exceed 130 pounds. In other words, the use of 
compound cylinders permits of the use of a wider range 
of expansion, without the attendant evil of excessive 
condensation. 

Such, then, is the theory of the compound locomo- 
tive. I have purposely described the simplest method 



THE COMPOUND LOCOMOTIVE 233 

of compounding — namely, the cross compound — in il- 
lustrating this theory. This type has been in successful 
use on a number of roads in the United States, in both 
freight and passenger service. The proportion of work 
between the two cylinders can easily be adjusted by a 
proper arrangement of the steam-chest valves, and the 
number of parts is reduced to a minimum, which is an 
important item in the cost of repairs. 

The cross compound, however, has its limitations, 
as, in attempting to increase the power of the engine 
beyond certain limits, the diameter of the low-pressure 
cylinder becomes so excessive that it extends beyond 
the clearance lines of most railroads. As the locomo- 
tive needs' its maximum power when starting, and as 
the low-pressure cylinder must wait until the high- 
pressure cylinder has exhausted into it before it can 
generate its share of power, it is necessary to provide 
some method of admitting steam from the boiler direct- 
ly into the low-pressure cylinder of the first few revolu- 
tions. Again, in order to augment the power of com- 
pound locomotives, when starting heavy loads', or ap- 
proaching the top of a heavy grade at slow speed with 
a heavy train, it is desirable to transform the compound 
locomotive, for the time being, into' a two-cylinder 
simple engine. This is accomplished by introducing 
steam from the boiler directly into' both high- and low- 
pressure cylinders, and arranging so that both will ex- 
haust directly into the atmosphere. These require- 
ments are fulfilled by the "intercepting valve," which 
controls the movement of the steam. When the engineer 
turns the operating valve in his cab to simple position, 



234 RAILWAY ORGANIZATION AND WORKING 

a spring closes this valve, and the steam cannot then 
pass from the high-pressure cylinder into the low-pres- 
sure; the steam that has entered the former cylinder 
exhausts directly into the atmosphere. At the same 
time, the live steam, opens a small reducing valve and 
finds its way through the receiver into' the low-pressure 
cylinder. The reducing valve is so constructed that the 
total pressure on the low-pressure piston equals that on 
the high-pressure piston when working simple. This 
balances the power effective on the two sides of the lo- 
comotive, and consequently produces smoother and 
more satisfactory running. 

Another type of compound which has met with much 
success in both passenger and freight service, and 
which is largely used in the United States', is popularly 
known as the "Vauclain" compound. Briefly described, 
it consists of four cylinders, two on each side, one 
above the other; and on each side one of the cylinders 
is a high-pressure and the other a low-pressure cylinder, 
this' giving a complete compound unit on each side of 
the engine. Each high-pressure and low-pressure 
cylinder combination is governed by a piston valve, 
which effects the entire distribution of steam from the 
time it enters the high-pressure cylinder until it leaves 
the low-pressure cylinder as exhaust into' the 
atmosphere. In order to have equal pressures on both 
upper and lower piston rods, and to prevent undue 
strains on the crosshead, it is necessary to have equal 
work done in both high-pressure and low-pressure 
cylinders, or to have the product of the mean effective 
pressure into the area of the piston in square inches 



THE COMPOUND LOCOMOTIVE 235 

alike for both cylinders. This is accomplished by ad- 
justing the ratio* of the diameters of the two cylinders 
when designing, and by arranging the piston valve to 
give a certain cutoff for each cylinder. 

Another type of compound ? and one that has met 
with much favor in heavy freight service, is known as 
the "Tandem Compound," from the fact that on each 
side of the locomotive are placed two cylinders on the 
same axis, one in front of the other, the high-pressure 
cylinder being placed ahead of the low-pressure one, 
and the two pistons' being mounted upon the same 
piston rod, which extends through both cylinders. Each 
cylinder is actuated by a separate valve, both valves 
being driven by the same valve-stem. The peculiar 
feature of the "Tandem Compound," is that the steam 
exhausts) from the front end of the high-pressure 
cylinder to> the back end of the low-pressure cylinder, 
and vice versa. 

Turning our attention to Europe, we find several 
distinctive types' of compounds. In England the 
"Webb" compound, employing three cylinders, one 
high-pressure and two low-pressure, is the prevailing 
type. In France, the "De Glehn" compound has ac- 
quired special prominence, being the prototype of the 
many recent designs at home and abroad of that popu- 
lar locomotive known as the "Four-Cylinder Balanced 
Compound." The De Glehn type has four cylinders in a 
horizontal plane, the twoi high-pressure cylinders being 
outside, and the two* low-pressure cylinders inside, of 
the frames'. Four separate slide-valves are employed, 
each with separate valve-gear (which is the Walschaert 



236 RAILWAY ORGANIZATION AND WORKING 

type modified), and two reverse levers are used to 
modify the cutoffs of high- and low-pressure cylinders 
independently. The outside, or high-pressure, cyl- 
inders are connected with the rear drivers, while the 
inside, or low-pressure, cylinders are attached to the 
front axle, which is a crank axle. In Germany, von 
Borries has developed a four-cylinder balanced com- 
pound locomotive which has the high-pressure cylinders 
inside and the low-pressure cylinders outside o>f the 
frames — or the reverse of the De Glehn type; and, 
furthermore, the two high-pressure cylinders are locat- 
ed somewhat back of the low-pressure ones. Four 
separate valves are used — piston valves for the high- 
pressure, and slide valves for the low-pressure, cyl- 
inders. The Walschaert valvengear, modified, is used. 
In this type of balanced compound the outside, or low- 
pressure, cylinders are connected with the front drivers, 
and the inside, or high-pressure cylinders, are connected 
with the same front axle, which is a crank axle. Thus' 
all four cylinders drive the front pair of wheels, while 
in the De Glehn type the forces are distributed between 
two pairs of wheels. 

In the United States several types of balanced com- 
pounds have been developed. The "Vauclain" four-cyl- 
inder balanced compound employs four cylinders in a 
horizontal plane, with the two' high-pressure cylinders 
inside, and the two low-pressure cylinders outside of 
the frames, while a single piston valve is made to serve 
both the high- and low-pressure cylinders. These 
valves are driven by the usual Stephenson link motion 
used on simple engines, and one reverse lever is used. 



THE COMPOUND LOCOMOTIVE 237 

Both methods of connecting cylinders to axles are em- 
ployed; namely, all four cylinders to the front axle; 
or the inside cylinders to the front or crank axle, and 
the outside cylinders to the second pair of wheels. 

The "Cole," compound engine, used by the New 
York Central Railroad, and designed by the American 
Locomotive Company at Schenectady, employs four 
cylinders in the same horizontal plane, but the inside, or 
high-pressure, cylinders are ahead of the outside, or 
low-pressure, cylinders, so> that a tandem valve-rigging 
may be used ; and each valve-stem carries two separate 
piston valves — the rear one for the low-pressure and 
the front one for the high-pressure cylinder. The 
Stephenson link is thus applicable to four separate 
valves, and one reverse lever is used. The cylinders 
are connected as in the De Glehn type — outside to the 
rear driver, and inside to the front or crank axle. 

One of the most interesting types of compound, and 
one recently adopted, for the first time in this country, 
by the Baltimore & Ohio, is the "Mallet Articulated" 
compound for heavy freight service. In this type the 
high-pressure cylinders work the rigid engine, while 
the low-pressure cylinders work the flexible engine. 

I have already mentioned the benefits to be derived 
by compounding in locomotive practice, calling atten- 
tion to' the more economical use of the steam. Each 
pound of water in a given type of boiler requires for its 
transmission into steam at boiler pressure a definite 
and fixed amount of heat energy, which, with coal of a 
given quality, means a definite amount of coal con- 
sumed, or a definite price per unit of coal, or per pound 



238 RAILWAY ORGANIZATION AND WORKING 

of steam produced. This being true, it follows that 
any arrangement at the cylinders which effects an econ- 
omy in the use of the steam reacts directly upon the 
earnings and profits of the road. So many comparative 
tests' have been made throughout the country between 
simple and compound locomotives, to ascertain the 
economy of the latter over the former, that I hesitate 
to choose or allude to any particular test ; but it is suffi- 
ciently accurate to 1 state that the fair average saving of 
the compound over the simple locomotive may be 20 per 
cent., or one-fifth of the fuel used. Some types of 
simple cylinders, owing to faulty design, are more 
wasteful than others, for a similar reason ; hence, trials 
have been made where the compound has shown an 
economy of as high as 33 per cent., as in the case of a 
test made in 1898, by Professor Richard Smart, M.E., 
at Purdue University. 

Not only does the compound cylinder effect a direct 
economy of steam used, and a consequent saving of 
coal, but, in addition to this', there is another economy 
of coal, due to the fact that the lighter exhaust of the 
low-pressure steam from the compound cylinders causes 
the boiler to< generate its steam under a lighter draft; 
hence the boiler is not forced to so high a point of 
evaporation. 

In addition to the matter of fuel and water economy 
of an engine^ the question of the cost of repairs, or 
maintenance, must be considered. If there is to be an 
increase in the cost of maintenance with the compound 
engine, it will undoubtedly come from the cylinders 
and connected parts'; while, if there is to be a saving, 



THE COMPOUND LOCOMOTIVE 239 

it will be in the decreased cost of maintenance of the 
boiler. The average cost of maintenance of cylinders 
and connected parts is about 3 per cent, of the total cost 
of repairs, while for the boiler it amounts to about 30 
per cent. Any small saving, therefore, on boiler repairs 
will more than offset any increase in the cost of the 
cylinder repairs. 

By no means the least advantage of the compound 
engine is the greater immunity from fires along the 
right of way, with their attendant losses, which on 
many roads aggregate thousands of dollars annually. 
With large-sized simple engines the exhaust is made at 
high pressure, the draft on the fire is severe, and in con- 
sequence more or less fire is thrown from their stacks. 
The compound exhausts at a lower pressure through a 
larger opening, and the throwing of fire is' reduced to 
a minimum 1 . 

The weight of a freight train which an engine can 
successfully haul over the road depends upon the num- 
ber of cars that can be taken over the heaviest, or rul- 
ing, grade. If it were not for this ruling grade, 
frequently 10 or 15 per cent, more tonnage could be 
taken over the remainder of the division. With the 
compound locomotive, when there is a hard pull on a 
ruling grade, the tractive power of the engine may be 
temporarily increased by admitting a certain amount 
of steam directly from the boiler into the low-pressure 
cylinder, until the top of the grade is reached — an 
advantage not attainable with simple cylinders. 

The compound freight engine develops its maximum 
efficiency and fuel economy when working under a 



240 RAILWAY ORGANIZATION AND WORKING 

maximum load; the single-expansion engine, on the 
contrary, develops its minimum economy when work- 
ing under a maximum load. On the other hand, the 
compound engine develops its' minimum economy with 
a minimum load, such as on a descending grade or with 
a light train-load; whereas the simple engine develops 
its maximum economy on a descending grade, or with a 
light train-load. This feature is highly appreciated by 
the locomotive fireman, whose task on a single-expan- 
sion freight engine, under a heavy train-load or on 
steep grades, is very severe and laborious ; and the suc- 
cess of a locomotive in hauling a train over the summit 
of a hill is often directly dependent on the ability of the 
fireman to feed the requisite amount of coal into' the 
fire-box in a given time. With the compound, on a 
heavy grade, the fireman's task is from 30 to 40 per 
cent, less, or easier. 

The compound locomotive, beyond question, is not 
economical on descending grades, owing to the back 
pressure generated in the cylinders by the piston action. 
Excessive back pressure in the cylinders develops 
pounding of the machinery, rods, etc. ; and, to avoid 
this, a limited amount of steam, must be worked through 
the cylinders. This steam, of course, costs money to 
generate, and is of no practical value in pulling the 
train, except as a remedy for the evil of back pressure. 

The success, and economy to be obtained with a 
compound engine are often frustrated by the ill pro- 
portion of the drivers to the service or road require- 
ments. Other things being equal, "the slower the 
piston speed, the greater the economy/' is true within 



THE COMPOUND LOCOMOTIVE 241 

reasonable limits; and, roughly speaking, a compound 
engine should have at least a twelve-inch larger driver 
than a single-expansion engine of the same capacity 
on similar road service. 

The ease with which a heavy train can be started 
without shock by a compound locomotive is a consider- 
able advantage over the ordinary single-expansion 
engine. A skilful, experienced engineer can stop a long 
freight train, as well as a passenger train, by means of 
the old-style three-way cock. It was the inexpert 
engineers who> showed the necessity for the improved 
equalizing and discharge engineer's brake-valve. This 
improved valve enables the inexperienced engineer to 
handle the air-brake successfully and efficiently. The 
same principle holds with reference to the compound 
engine versus the simple. Expert engineers, both on 
passenger and on freight engines, are able with a 
reasonable tonnage to utilize the expansive properties 
of steam, and in special cases obtain some very fair 
economical results; but the majority of engineers' de- 
vote a very limited amount of thought and care in striv- 
ing for economical fuel results with their locomotives. 
Furthermore, many enginemen have been found so 
deficient in the handling of passenger engines as to 
necessitate their being barred out of this service. By 
the very principle of the compound, an engineer's 
economic efficiency is of secondary importance, after 
the first few revolutions of the drivers. The steam, 
by means of the valve and the machinery, is worked 
expansively, and, as soon as the train gains normal 
speed, the position of the reverse lever on the quadrant 



242 RAILWAY ORGANIZATION AND WORKING 

is almost fixed, which allows the speed of the train to 
be governed entirely by the throttle. Many of our 
notably unsuccessful engineers on simple engines are 
giving as good results in handling compounds as our 
most capable men. Engineers barred out of passenger 
service, when simple engines were used, have been rein- 
stated, and are successfully and efficiently handling the 
compounds. It is noticeable that not one engineer has 
ever been taken out of compound passenger service, 
except for accident or on account of old age. 

A broken packing-ring on a simple engine has caused 
the engine to give up the train. The same accident 
might happen on a compound, without the engine losing 
a minute. A compound engine has been known to* lose 
twenty minutes on a hard run, on account of "no 
steam;" on examination, seven broken packing-rings 
were found. On another occasion the piston came loose 
on the rod, knocking cut the cylinder head and break- 
ing a piece out of the cylinder. The engine continued 
with ten passenger-cars, making up time on the run. 
An accident of this nature on a simple engine would 
necessitate the use of another engine; owing to the fact 
that a large-wheeled passenger simple engine, on one 
side, experiences great difficulty in starting a train, and 
in a majority of cases cannot start it at all. 

The cost of repairs to cylinders and connected parts 
has been greatly reduced in my experience by the adop- 
tion of an extended piston rod. 



CAR CONSTRUCTION 

J. H. AMES, CHIEF ENGINEER, AMERICAN CAR AND 
FOUNDRY COMPANY 

The earliest form of the railway was called a "tram- 
way," and was first used in connection with mines and 
quarries as early as the sixteenth century. The earliest 
form of railway car, then, was a car similar to those still 
used in mining, being merely an open box mounted on 
axles and wheels, and drawn by horses or mules. It 
was not until 1734 that flanged wheels appeared; and 
a stone-car built at that time, which was also equipped 
with a hand-brake, may justly be considered as the pro- 
totype of the present-day freight-car. 

In 1804 the first cars were hauled by a locomotive. 
For the transportation of long timbers and bars of 
iron, cars such as those just mentioned were coupled 
together by long bars or reaches, and on the center of 
each car was mounted a bolster, secured by a king bolt, 
on which the material was loaded. This arrangement 
contained all the essential features of the modern long- 
bodied car mounted on trucks, and is still in use in the 
logging trade. On their first trip these cars carried a 
load of ten tons o>f iron bars. This became the stand- 
ard capacity, which was adhered to for nearly three- 
quarters of a century, and is still the favored one in 
England and on the continent of Europe. 

While the principle of swiveling trucks was thus 
early established, for some reason or other it was not 

243 



244 RAILWAY ORGANIZATION AND WORKING 

generally adopted, and for many years afterward cars 
were built with only four wheels, the housings for the 
axles being either secured to the car frame or held in 
pedestals. This type of car is still in universal use in 
all countries except the United States, Canada, and 
Mexico, where it was discarded at least forty years 
ago. 

The American roadbeds, as a rule, were not as 
substantially constructed as the European, and the 
conditions under which they were operated called for 
a construction of less rigidity than the four-wheeled 
type, leading to the development of the longer body 
with two> trucks, which will pass more easily around 
curves, especially those of short radius; and also to 
the introduction of the truck with a swinging bolster, 
which makes the car ride more easily when entering or 
leaving a curve, and relieves the strain upon the 
flanges of the wheels. It also reduces the tendency of 
the wheels to climb the rails in passing around curves, 
and the consequent derailment of the car. 

Not long after the adoption of the long car, the 
capacity was increased from ten to* twelve tons ; then to 
fifteen tons. By 1880 the capacity had reached twenty 
tons, and the length of the car thirty-four feet. This 
length and capacity remained stationary for some 
years, when cars of twenty-five tons were introduced. 
Shortly afterward the capacity was again increased to 
thirty tons, at which point it remained until 1895, when 
the increase in the strength of rails and bridges had 
progressed so that cars of forty tons' capacity could 
be used. These were shortly followed by cars of fifty 



CAR CONSTRUCTION 245 

tons. At the present time the majority of cars being 
built are of these two latter capacities. 

With reference to passenger-cars, the car which 
Stephenson's first locomotive pulled in 18 14 was made 
by taking the body of a four-in-hand stage-coach and 
mounting it on an underframe fitted with flanged 
wheels. This served as the model for passenger-cars for 
many years ; in fact, the stage-coach idea is still adhered 
to in most European countries. The first passenger- 
coach run regularly for public use — on the Stockton & 
Darlington road, in 1825 — had a door at each end and 
a row of seats along each side, and therefore may be 
considered as the prototype of the present American 
passenger-car. This was, however, soon abandoned 
for the stage-coach type, which represented the highest 
development of comfort in traveling up to that time 
attained. 

The first long passenger-cars, with center aisles 
and end-doors, were constructed in this country in 
1833, and this type has been in constant use here ever 
since. We now know that the present types of 
American freight- and passenger-cars had their origin 
in England; but it remained for American railroad 
men to develop and perfect them, making them the 
best types for their respective classes of traffic. The 
early passenger-cars were thirty feet in length. During 
their evolution into the modern type they have grown 
to eighty feet, which is the present maximum. 

The sleeping-car is a purely American invention, 
as are also the dining- and mail-cars, all of which are 
the logical outcome of the longer distances to be cov- 



246 RAILWAY ORGANIZATION AND WORKING 

ered in this country than in Europe. The first sleep- 
ing-cars were introduced as far back as 1838. The 
bedding and curtains had to be stowed at one end of 
the car. Sofas along the side O'f the car formed the 
lower berth ; a middle berth was hinged to the window- 
casing; and an upper berth rested on cleats fastened to 
permanent cross-partitions. It will be seen from this 
that the arrangement was more in the nature of bunks 
than of beds. Mr. George M. Pullman's first efforts 
at improvement were made in 1859, but his early cars 
were only slightly in advance of others then in use, and 
it was not until 1863 that the present type of sleeper, 
known as the "Pullman," was placed in service. 

The details of the construction of cars of course 
have been changed with the increases in capacities and 
lengths, and I shall mention only a few of the most 
prominent. 

At first there was no standard for the gauge of 
the tracks among the railroads of this country, which 
ranged from four feet six inches to six feet. As a 
result, there was great difficulty in the interchange of 
cars, when the traffic had increased to the point where 
this became desirable. As late as 1865, when the first 
fast freight line was established between New York 
and Chicago, there were eight railroads over which 
the cars had to pass, with a maximum variation of one 
inch in gauge. Hence these cars had to be equipped 
with wheels having a specially broad tread, in order 
to ride on the rails of either the widest or the nar- 
rowest. Hardly any two roads used the same-sized 
axle, form of journal-bearing, journal-box, drawbar, 



CAR CONSTRUCTION 247 

or draft attachments; so that, if any one of these 
parts required replacement when the car was off its 
own line, it had been to be sidetracked until the neces- 
sary part could be obtained from the road owning the 
car. 

These conditions led to the formation, in 1867, °f 
the Master Car Builders' Association, whose first work 
was the determination of dimensions for standards for 
wheel-treads and flanges, gauging-points for pressing 
wheels on axles, journal-boxes, journal-bearings, and 
journal-bearing keys; and, later on, of standard con- 
tour lines and shanks for automatic couplers, draft 
attachments, brake-beams, etc. The adoption of these 
standards by all roads greatly facilitated the move- 
ment O'f cars, and has been an important factor in the 
building-up of through traffic from one part of the 
country to another. 

The earliest form of car-coupling was a hook, 
rigidly attached to the car body, and connected with 
the hooks on adjoining cars by a link. Later on, these 
hooks were formed on the end O'f long rods placed 
below the body-framing, and connected at the center 
with an elliptic spring, which afterward gave way to 
a spiral spring. Then the hook was replaced by a cast- 
iron head through which the rod passed, and was 
secured by either a head on the rod or a key through 
it, and the link was secured in the head by dropping a 
pin through it. This arrangement was superseded by 
a longer cast-iron head, with a short tail-rod passing 
through a spiral spring, which bore against iron plates 
called followers, which in turn bore against castings 



248 RAILWAY ORGANIZATION AND WORKING 

or lugs secured to the draft timbers of the car-body. 
This is the present arrangement, except that the tail- 
rod has been superseded by a wrought-iron yoke 
riveted to the shank of the drawbar and passing around 
the follower plates. The cast-iron link and pin draw- 
bar have been superseded by the automatic vertical- 
plane coupler made of malleable iron or steel, which 
was first introduced for freight-cars about 1887. Prior 
to the introduction of the automatic coupler there was 
no standard for the height of the center of the coupler 
from the top of the rails, making the coupling of cars 
a difficult and dangerous task, as the variation in 
height was often as much as four inches, in which case 
the use of crooked or offset links was a necessity. 

The first brake consisted of a wooden block pressed 
against he tread O'f one wheel by means of a foot-lever. 
Then came wooden beams on which wooden blocks 
were mounted; these beams being connected by a sys- 
tem of levers and rods, which in turn were connected 
by a chain with a shaft at the end of the car, which 
was turned by a hand-wheel, by means of which the 
blocks could be pressed against all four wheels. The 
wooden blocks gave way to cast-iron blocks with 
detachable shoes, which could easily be replaced when 
worn ; and later on, with the introduction of air-brakes, 
the wooden beams were superseded by metal beams of 
various types of construction. 

The single-brake shoe- and foot-lever is still in use 
on many freight-cars in Europe, and when beams are 
used with shoes on all four wheels, the brake is set by 
turning the brake-shaft, as in this country ; but, instead 



CAR CONSTRUCTION 249 

of a chain winding on the shaft, there is a nut, with a 
trunnion on each side, which rises on the thread cut on 
the shaft. To the trunnions on the nut are attached 
links, the other ends of which are connected with a 
bell-crank, fastened under the end sill of the body, 
which pulls on the rods and levers. This arrangement 
is slow in operation, both in setting and in releasing the 
brakes. 

An early form of power-brake was arranged so 
that the checking of the speed of the locomotive would 
cause the drawbars to be pushed back, and the yokes 
containing the drawbar springs would come in contact 
with bell-cranks connected with the upper end of the 
brake levers, causing them to move and thus apply the 
brakes. This type was not used long, as the vacuum- 
brake soon appeared, and the Westinghouse air-brake 
was being developed, the first form having been applied 
in 1869. It was not, however, until after the auto- 
matic feature had been introduced, in 1873, that air- 
brakes came into general use for passenger service; 
and they were not applied to freight-cars to any extent 
for more than ten years later. 

Up to* 1867, when the Miller platform, coupler, and 
buffer were first applied, the coupling devices for pas- 
senger-cars were the same as for freight-cars, with the 
same amount of slack between the cars ; hence in start- 
ing and stopping there was the same jerking and bump- 
ing that may be experienced on a freight train, to the 
great discomfort of the passengers. The writer has a 
very distinct recollection of his first railroad journey in 
cars that were not equipped with either the Miller plat- 



250 RAILWAY ORGANIZATION AND WORKING 

form or the Westinghouse brakes, and words can hardly 
convey the difference between that ride and one at the 
present time. 

Until 1896, cars were constructed wholly of wood; 
iron or steel being used only for bolts, frame-rods, 
truss-rods, and the metal parts of the trucks. Although 
a number of freight-cars had been built wholly of iron 
or steel, both in this country and in Europe, as early as 
1854, the great increase in cost over wooden cars and 
the lack of proper machinery for their manufacture 
prevented their general use. As locomotives were 
increased in weight and tractive power, and it became 
possible to haul longer trains, the necessity arose for 
stronger cars. Many attempts were made by designers 
to introduce steel center sills in the wooden cars, but 
these proved unsatisfactory for many reasons. This 
led to the development of an entire steel underframe, 
which is an arrangement now coming into> very general 
use. The first all-steel freight-cars for regular traffic 
were built in 1897 for the Pittsburg, Bessemer & Lake 
Erie Railroad, being self -clearing hopper cars for the 
transportation of ore and coal. They were of fifty 
tons' capacity. Their success attracted the attention 
of all railroad men and led to> their rapid introduction, 
especially among the eastern coal-roads. 

The principal advantage in steel construction, aside 
from its superiority in strength and durability, lies in 
the fact that it is possible to haul a greater percentage 
of revenue-paying load in proportion to the dead weight 
of the car, which is a non-paying load — or, in other 
words, an item of the expense of conducting transporta- 



CAR CONSTRUCTION 251 

tion, as may be seen from the following figures : A 
wooden coal-car of 44,000 pounds' maximum capacity 
has a dead weight of about 22,000 pounds, or a ratio 
of two pounds of paying load to one pound of non- 
paying load; while a steel coal-car of 110,000 pounds' 
maximum capacity has a dead weight of 36,500 pounds, 
or a ratio of three pounds of paying load to one pound 
of non-paying — an increase of 50 per cent. It is not 
fair to say that this increase can be obtained in all 
classes of cars, as box- and other types of closed cars 
are seldom loaded to their rated capacity, while coal-cars 
usually are. Much of this increase is due to> the fact 
that the wooden cars were not designed in a scientific 
way, the thirty-ton car being merely a growth from 
the ten-ton car, the parts having been increased to 
meet the additional load and service strains according 
to the fancy of the Master Car Builder of the road. 
I have seen box-cars that in the twenty-four-foot-ten- 
ton stage had but one brace between the transom-post 
and the door-post. As the cars were lengthened and 
the distance from transom-post to door-post was 
increased, the brace was lengthened correspondingly, 
and made weaker by reason of the length and change 
in angle; instead of adding another post and brace, 
which would have given the requisite stiffness. This 
perhaps is an extreme case, but is cited as an instance 
of the too frequent lack of care in car design. Another 
instance is the case of some stock-cars which I saw 
recently, on which the slats, which are inside of the 
posts and subject only to pressure from the inside, 
were each secured to the posts by two bolts. The 



252 RAILWAY ORGANIZATION AND WORKING 

braces, which are outside of the slats, and liable to 
displacement by pressure from the inside, were merely 
put in place, without cast-shoes at top or bottom, and 
held by nails through the slats. The result was that, 
when the nails loosened by reason of the shrinkage of 
the wood, there was practically nothing to hold them. 
The lurching of the cattle would push them out, and 
they would fall oft* and be lost along the road. 

Aside from the parts made standard by the 
Master Car Builders' Association, there has been no 
uniformity in car design, each Master Car Builder 
following his own peculiar ideas. Consequently, as 
Master Car Builders have changed, so have the designs, 
with the result that any road that might be named will 
be found to' have cars of the same length and capacity 
differing radically from each other in details of con- 
struction, This necessitates the carrying in stock of 
castings, forgings, and timbers for each different type 
O'f construction, and is a source of expense to> the roads, 
which could have been avoided had a single standard 
been adhered to. 

With the advent of steel cars more attention has 
been paid to scientific design, and a great improvement 
has been made in the reduction of weight. There is, 
however, still a lack of appreciation of the importance 
O'f adhering to a single standard, which is more easily 
obtained in steel than it was in wood; and many rail- 
roads are neglecting the opportunity to standardize 
their equipment when changing from wooden to> steel 
construction. 

The use of steel in passenger-car construction is still 



CAR CONSTRUCTION 253 

in its infancy, being confined mainly to body-bolsters, 
platforms, and the strengthening of end-frames; but 
there is a movement in the direction of steel under- 
names now making itself felt. Steel underframes are 
being used quite extensively for electric street and inter- 
urban cars, and the new underground roads in New 
York and London are building cars wholly of steel, in 
order that they may be the strongest obtainable, and 
also absolutely fire-proof, so that in case of accident the 
casualties may be reduced to> a minimum.. 

In determining the capacity of a car, consideration 
should be given to the traffic conditions on the road 
over which it is to operate, as the maximum load which 
can be put in the car is governed by the commodity to 
be handled. For instance, refrigerator-cars cannot be 
loaded to exceed twenty-five tons with beef or canned 
meats; therefore it is clearly unnecessary to build a 
car capable of carrying forty tons. Neither can stock- 
cars be loaded with cattle to' exceed thirty tons. As 
these two classes of cars handle their special commodi- 
ties 90 per cent, of the time, why should they be built 
to carry more, since the larger capacity merely entails 
a larger first cost, and a daily expense by the cost of 
handling the extra dead weight ? Box-cars, of course, 
are used for general merchandise, and the average 
annual loading rarely exceeds fifteen tons per trip. 
However, if the business consists of handling a large 
tonnage on short mileage, or transcontinental hauls, 
a high-capacity car is desirable, as it can be loaded to 
its full capacity the major part of the year; but for the 



254 RAILWAY ORGANIZATION AND WORKING 

middle distances, in local traffic, a car not to exceed 
thirty tons' capacity will be found best. 

In considering the design for a freight-car, two 
cardinal principles should be observed, viz. : ease in first 
construction, which will naturally be followed by 
reduction in first cost; and ease in making repairs, 
which, of course, means reduction in cost of main- 
tenance. The freight traffic of a rairoad is the back- 
bone of the business, and the freight-cars are the 
means by which the traffic is handled; therefore it is 
important that they be in running order as large a 
proportion of the time as possible, as time lost on 
repair tracks means not only expense in maintenance, 
but loss of revenue. It will be found that the simplest 
designs are the best, and great care should be taken to 
see that the parts which are subject to shocks — such 
as the bolsters, draft-rigging, and end- framing — are 
amply strong, and have a safety factor of at least five. 

In cars constructed wholly of wood it will be found 
that cast steel is the best material for bolsters, permit- 
ting them to* be made of a single piece ; whereas, when 
built up of plates and castings, the rivets or bolts 
become loose, permitting them to 1 deflect and come 
down on the truck side-bearings. The result is that the 
trucks will not pass easily around curves, producing 
excessive wear on the flanges of the wheels and the 
heads of the rails, and increasing the resistance to* be 
overcome by the locomotive, thus causing a greater 
consumption of fuel. 

For wooden cars a good construction for the end- 
framing is obtained by using steel I-beams for posts, 



CAR CONSTRUCTION 255 

which should rest in malleable iron pockets firmly 
secured to the end-sill and end-plate, and the side- 
framing should be stiffened against bulging from the 
pressure of a flowing load — such as grain, small sizes 
of anthracite coal, etc. — by the use of steel angles of 
Z-bars. The use of pressed-steel carlines or roof-rafters 
is also a good feature, as there may be a gain in the 
clear height inside, and stiffness is added to the frame 
by the carlines acting as cross-ties, thus making it 
possible to> dispense with the use of tie-rods, on which 
the nuts usually become loose. 

As it is an impossibility to obtain seasoned lumber 
for freight-cars, there is always a shrinkage of the 
wood, permitting bolts and tie-rods to become loose; 
hence the whole frame becomes shaky, and the nails in 
the sheathing and roofing loosen and work out. A 
new wooden car, if taken into the shop after the first 
six months' service and given a general tightening-up, 
will run for several years without further repairs, bar- 
ring accidents. Unfortunately, however, this is seldom 
done, and I have seen cars only two to three years old 
in a deplorable condition, simply from lack of attention. 
Many thousands of dollars are lost to the railroads of 
the country annually from such causes as this — a loss 
which could be avoided by a comparatively small 
expense. 

In steel cars open-hearth steel should always be 
employed, as Bessemer is not sufficiently homogeneous, 
and usually contains hard spots in which cracks 
develop, when subjected to shocks. Steel underframes 
on freight-cars give fairly good results, but it will be 



256 RAILWAY ORGANIZATION AND WORKING 

found that with a wooden superstructure on a steel 
underframe the shrinkage will permit the superstruc- 
ture to become loosened, unless the frame-rods are 
kept tightened ; and as the underframe does not shrink 
Or deflect, the upper framing will tip sidewise, since the 
bracing prevents end motion. 

The best form of steel-frame car is that in which 
there is a steel skeleton superstructure rigidly secured 
to a steel underframe, with wooden strips bolted to 
them, to which the wooden floor, lining, roofing, and 
sheathing can be nailed. Such a car will retain its 
normal shape under all ordinary conditions, and can 
be made lighter in dead weight than a steel-underframe 
car with wooden superstructure. 

It has been a much discussed question as toi whether 
cars made of pressed-steel shapes or those made of 
commercial sizes of plates and structural shapes are 
the better, and I shall quote the opinion of a pioneer 
steel-car manufacturer as the best expression on the 
subject that I have seen : 

It is evident that from the very beginning it was recognized 
that the ideal car would be one made throughout of standard 
commercial shapes. As pressed steel, however, admitted of the 
production of shapes of the exact form desired, and the early 
development of the steel car being in the hands of those predis- 
posed in its favor, and interested in the manufacture of pressed- 
steel parts, it is natural that great progress was first made in the 
perfectir^ of this latter type of construction, while the car made 
of rolled sections remained for the time in its crude original state, 
being clumsy and heavy when compared with the more highly 
developed pressed-steel car. 

The advantages of constructing a car from a few standard 
commercial shapes, easily obtained in the open market, especially 



CAR CONSTRUCTION 257 

when considering the question of repairs, rather than from 
numerous special parts requiring expensive machinery in their 
manufacture, were too manifest, however, to permit of being 
long ignored; and that it is possible to build cars from standard 
rolled sections, having all the advantages of light weight and 
maximum strength claimed for the pressed-steel car, has been 
fully demonstrated by the later developments of art, and is 
amply evidenced by the numerous structural steel cars now in 
service, which compare favorably with the pressed-steel types 
in the matter of lightness, strength, and simplicity of construction. 

As the strains of service are the same on all cars, 
irrespective of capacity, the draft- rigging and center 
sills should be of uniform strength on the highest- and 
lowest-capacity cars; otherwise the weak car will suffer 
damage. Undoubtedly some form of anti-friction 
draft-rigging that will quickly absorb shocks, and not 
give a heavy recoil as the springs expand, is very 
desirable; but an entirely satisfactory device of this 
kind has, I believe, not yet been developed. 

As in body construction, so< also' in truck construc- 
tion many changes have taken place, numerous special 
types having been tried and found wanting. The early 
forms were similar to> small four-wheeled cars, consist- 
ing O'f a frame to> which pedestals for the journal-boxes 
were attached, the springs being located between the 
top of the journal-box and the frame. This type, how- 
ever, was not sufficiently flexible, nor could a pair of 
wheels be taken out without first jacking up the car- 
body, running the truck out, and then jacking up the 
truck-frame — all of which required time as well as 
yard room. 

About thirty years ago the present style of truck — 



258 RAILWAY ORGANIZATION AND WORKING 

known as the "diamond truck," from the shape of the 
bars forming the side-trusses or frames — came into 
use, and is now practically the standard type for all 
American roads. It is easy to build and easy to< repair, 
can be constructed entirely of metal, and is so> designed 
that, if necessary, a pair of wheels can be removed 
without jacking up either the car-body or the truck- 
frame. The main point to> be observed in designing a 
truck of this type is to' keep the rise of the top arch- 
bar within the limits of one and a half and three and a 
half inches, as, if made too> high, there is great tendency 
to< buckling between the bolts, the bar being wholly in 
compression; this also increases the strain on the 
column bolts, which may be termed the keystone of the 
side-frame, since, when they fail, the truck goes down. 

An attempt was made a few years ago* to revive the 
pedestal type of truck by making it of pressed steel or 
of structural shapes; and for a time this was quite 
extensively used in certain portions of the country. 
But as this style of truck possessed all the disadvantages 
of the older type, together with some peculiar to itself, 
it again fell into disfavor, and but very few are now 
applied under new equipment. 

The break-beams should be hung from the truck- 
frame and not from the body-frame, and should not 
be suspended from the bolster, but from the column or 
spring-plank, where they will remain stationary. 
When hung to any part above the springs, they are 
subjected to a vertical movement equal to that of the 
springs, and consequently do not always bear the same 
position relative to the tread of the wheel. If the 



CAR CONSTRUCTION 259 

brakes are adjusted when the car is empty and the 
springs at the highest position, the beam will have to 
move a greater distance to meet the wheel when the 
car is loaded and the springs compressed; and this 
movement, being multiplied through the levers and 
rods, often results in the maximum piston travel of the 
brake cylinder being exceeded, rendering the brake 
ineffective, particularly in case the brake-shoes are worn 
thin. 

Brake-beams should invariably be of metal, as 
trussed wooden beams are subject to variation from 
shrinkage and loose nuts on the rods, permitting the 
beams to deflect, with the same result at the brake 
cylinder as just mentioned. Metal beams should be of 
as few parts as possible, those made of five- or six-inch 
steel I-beams being the best. 

Reverting to the bodies of freight-cars : Galvanized 
iron is the best material for roofs, and is applied in 
two ways. The first method consists in placing the 
sheets immediately above the rafters and purlines of 
the body- framing, and an outside course of boards over 
the iron. According to the second method, a course of 
boards is nailed upon the rafters and purlines, and the 
iron sheets are laid upon these boards. These two 
methods are known as the "inside" and "outside" 
method, respectively. Each method has strong advo- 
cates, and both have their good points. My personal 
experience leads me to incline toward the outside roof, 
because of the ease with which it can be repaired. 
With the outside roof, however, it is essential for the 
preservation of the roof that the car- frame be kept well 



260 RAILWAY ORGANIZATION AND WORKING 

tightened, as, when the frame becomes loose, its weav- 
ing motion when running has a tendency to crack the 
sheets, if they be too' rigidly fastened, by repeatedly 
bending and straightening at certain points. It is 
probable that this trouble will disappear with the use of 
all-steel- frame cars. 

Side-doors are a great source of expense and 
danger, if they be not properly applied. In case they 
are dislodged from their rails and hang away from the 
side of the car, they may scratch the varnish and paint 
from the side of an entire train of passenger-cars in 
passing; or may catch, and be torn off and destroyed, 
in passing other freight-cars. If caught in the right 
way, they may even cause a derailment or wreck of a 
passing train. Much of this trouble is caused by the 
use of so-called anti-friction hangers, which, while 
being easy to* operate in a freight-house or on a siding, 
also easily shift back and forth on the rail when the 
car is being shunted around the yards, unless the door 
is closed and locked. This shifting allows the door 
to hammer continually on the stops, which are loosened 
and knocked off, permitting the door to run off its 
rail. The door-hangers also become loosened from the 
same cause, and eventually the door drops off and is 
lost. Fixtures can now be obtained which overcome 
these defects, and their use would be an important item 
in the reduction of the cost of maintenance. 

In passenger-cars safety should be the first consid- 
eration, the dead weight being secondary. The intro- 
duction of the wide vestibule has been an important 
factor in the reduction of fatalities in passenger-train 



CAR CONSTRUCTION 261 

accidents, as it is practically impossible for one car to 
telescope another when both are equipped with this 
device. At first, when wooden platform timbers were 
employed, there was difficulty in carrying the extra 
weight of the vestibule; but now, with steel I-beams, 
or channels placed in pairs, for platform members, the 
difficulty has been overcome. The use of cast steel for 
body-bolsters has also permitted a more secure fasten- 
ing for the steel platform, and has reduced the liability 
to' breakage of the longitudinal sills at the point where 
they cross the bolsters. 

Ventilation is an important feature in passenger- 
car design, and prior to i860, when the clear story or 
monitor deck was first introduced in the roof, it was a 
difficult problem. This mode of ventilation has now 
been developed to a point where it is possible to obtain 
a free circulation of air without much danger from 
drafts. But there is still room for improvement, and 
this is a subject worthy of further attention. 

Heating in the early days was a source of great 
danger, in case of accident, by the use of ordinary coal- 
stoves ; but this danger has been practically eliminated, 
first by the introduction of the Baker hot-water heater, 
and later by the use of steam from the locomotive. 

The problem of lighting has likewise passed through 
several stages of development, including the periods of 
oil lamps, gas, and electric light. The best practice at 
present comprises electricity, generated by a dynamo 
driven by a belt from the car-axle, with storage batteries 
to supply current when the train comes to a stop, and 



262 RAILWAY ORGANIZATION AND WORKING 

with the Pintsch compressed-gas system as an auxiliary 
in case of the failure of the electrical apparatus. 

Great advance has also been made in the interior 
finish and decoration of passenger-cars. Instead of the 
heavy carvings and moldings formerly in vogue, which 
collected and held dust and microbes, and the gaudily 
painted head-linings, we now have flat surfaces wher- 
ever possible, made of carefully selected, finely figured 
woods, relieved only by inlaid lines or figures — an 
arrangement allowing of easy cleaning — and head- 
linings in a single color, preferably a light shade of 
green, decorated only by a small line or ornamental 
border in gilt. The entire interior should be harmo- 
nious in color, and of such a shade as not to tire the 
eyes, which would be the case with some colors, or 
combination of colors, when before the eyes for several 
hours. 

For passenger-cars the pedestal type of truck is still 
used, but has been greatly improved over the original 
form. The use of steel-tired wheels, which do> not 
require attention as frequently as the cast-iron wheels 
used on freight-cars, largely overcomes the objection 
of difficulty in their replacement. By the introduction 
of equalizing-bars and the springs which rest on them, 
great flexibility is obtained, and shock? and movements 
due to inequalities in the tracks are absorbed before 
they reach the car-body, making the car ride easily at 
all times. The frames of these trucks are usually built 
of wood, plated with steel for additional strength; 
but trucks built entirely of metal are now in course of 
development, and will no doubt be in general, use 



CAR CONSTRUCTION 263 

before many years. Many European passenger-cars 
are still built without trucks, and have either four or 
six wheels, in the latter case one pair being placed 
under the center of the car. The difference in the 
ease of riding is quite marked, as under this system 
there is a constant vibration of the floor, which, how- 
ever, is felt only in the feet while they rest on it, but 
otherwise is not especially noticeable, as the seats are 
finely upholstered with deep springs in order to absorb 
the vibration. 

In conclusion, I would call attention to the fact that 
railroad transportation is the greatest industry in the 
world, and that the cars used in that industry repre- 
sent an enormous amount of invested capital. It is 
also true that the freight-cars are apt to receive less 
careful attention than the passenger-cars or locomo- 
tives, notwithstanding the fact that there is a larger 
sum invested in them than in the others. Let me also 
emphasize the importance of rational design, mathe- 
matically worked out, in order that all parts may be 
of sufficient strength to bear the shocks incident to the 
rough service in which the cars are employed, thus 
keeping the cost of maintenance at a minimum, and 
enabling them to be engaged in revenue service the 
maximum amount of time during their life. If this 
course is pursued, it will be of great assistance to the 
management in keeping down the ratio of operating 
expenses to earnings. 



DUTIES OF A COMPTROLLER OR CHIEF 
ACCOUNTING OFFICER 

F. NAY, GENERAL AUDITOR, CHICAGO, ROCK ISLAND & 
PACIFIC RAILWAY 

In the early days of railroading- the accounts were 
kept in the offices of the various traffic and operating 
officials. For example, the freight accounts were fre- 
quently kept in the office of the General Freight Agent ; 
the passenger accounts, in the office of the General 
Passenger Agent; the disbursement accounts, in the 
office of the Superintendent; and so on. The final 
results of the accounting in the various offices were 
forwarded to the Secretary, Treasurer, or some other 
designated officer, who issued the periodical statements 
of the operations of the entire road. Under these con- 
ditions the accounts were supervised by excellent men, 
but not by trained accountants. The minds of the vari- 
ous operating officials were filled with matters other 
than those pertaining to accounting methods ; hence the 
results were unsatisfactory, and frequently large losses' 
of revenue occurred through the laxity of the system. 
Aside from the loss of revenue, the history of what 
had been accomplished was imperfectly written, be- 
cause the statements for the different portions of the 
railroads operated, and those made by different officers, 
were compiled with little thought of uniformity, there- 
by rendering comparisons misleading and o£ little prac- 
tical value. Further than this, the various traffic and 

264 



THE CHIEF ACCOUNTING OFFICER 265 

operating officials were not always' diligent in calling 
the attention of the executive officer to unfavorable 
conditions in their own departments. This is an inher- 
ent tendency in human nature, however, and not con- 
trary to what might have been expected. Under those 
methods', one practice, more or less demoralizing, was 
the collection of perquisites by the various traffic and 
operating officials. — a practice which, it is gratifying to 
state, is now practically a thing of the past. 

This should not be understood as a criticism either 
of the officers in charge of the departments in Avhich 
the accounts were handled, or of the clerks, working 
under them, who compiled the accounts. In fact, those 
men are to be commended for the degree of success 
which they achieved under such unfavorable conditions. 

Gradually the executive officers felt the need of a 
central office where the accounts of all departments 
could be carefully supervised, and compiled by trained 
men, in order that the revenue of the company might 
be surrounded with more safeguards, that statistical 
data or history might be compiled on a uniform basis, 
and that the attention of the executive officer might 
be called to unfavorable as well as favorable conditions. 
Thus it was that, in the progress of the development of 
the railroad business, there came to be Accountants, 
Auditors, General Auditors, Comptrollers, etc. — recog- 
nized heads of the Accounting Department. 

The President and Vice-President, Secretary, and 
Treasurer of a railroad are always elected by the Board 
of Directors, but the Chief Accounting Officer is usual- 
ly appointed either by the President or by the active 



266 RAILWAY ORGANIZATION AND WORKING 

executive officer. This Chief Accounting Officer on 
each road at first had his own individual methods, the 
methods of different roads being entirely dissimilar, 
and each man more or less jealous of his own. At the 
outset some of the operating officers were reluctant to 
acknowledge the authority of the Chief Accounting 
Officer, the latter being looked upon as a sort of neces- 
sary evil, always intermeddling with the affairs of 
other people. It is only fair to say that the accounting 
officers sometimes deserved all of this kind of criticism 
which they received. At the present day, however, 
this feeling has been practically eradicated. The up- 
to-date Chief Accounting Officer sincerely desires to> co- 
operate with every officer of the company, and the other 
officers recognize the value of earnest co-operation 
with him, and court it. 

Up to< about twenty-five years' ago each railroad 
company conducted its business entirely separate and 
distinct from other railroad companies'. It treated other 
companies, tendering freight traffic for shipment, prac- 
tically the same as it treated any other shipper, requir- 
ing a complete manifest or transcript of the shipments 
tendered, which was retained in lieu of the shipping 
ticket covering shipments from business houses ; and if 
a shipment was delivered to another railroad, it required 
the other road to pay its freight charges at the time of 
delivery, just as if the shipment were delivered to any 
other consignee. Passengers were interchanged more 
freely among railroads by the use of coupon tickets, 
but each road had its own method of settling with other 
roads on passenger business so interchanged. 



THE CHIEF ACCOUNTING OFFICER 267 

It was found that these methods, especially those 
applied to freight traffic, were expensive, frequently 
causing delays and blockades at junction points. Hence 
through or interline billing was inaugurated — a system 
which has grown until, at the present time, a very large 
percentage of the freight interchanged between rail- 
roads' is handled on single waybills reading from the 
point of origin to the destination, no matter how many 
roads handle the shipments. This necessitated uniform 
accounting methods; and thus the process which 
brought about uniformity on each individual road now 
began to operate with regard to interline business 
among the different roads'. This again resulted in the 
formation of the Association of American Railway Ac- 
counting Officers, to which practically every up-to-date 
Chief Accounting Officer, and many of the subordinate 
accounting officers, now belong. Through this associa- 
tion, more than through all other agencies combined, 
uniformity in methods of accounting for interline 
freight and ticket business, together with uniformity in 
many other methods, has been established, thus redu- 
cing the expense of accounting for interline business to 
a minimum, facilitating the ready interchange of traffic 
among railroads, and enabling managers and executive 
officers to compare the results of their own line with 
those of other lines. 

The interchange of traffic, which brought about the 
interchange of ideas and formation of the Association 
of American Railway Accounting Officers, was a very 
strong factor in broadening the horizon of the Chief 



268 RAILWAY ORGANIZATION AND WORKING 

Accounting Officers, and of stimulating them to in- 
crease their field of usefulness. 

This brief historical outline is necessary to> establish 
a proper understanding of the duties and scope of work 
of the Chief Accounting Officer of a railroad. 

It is believed that, in the ideal organization of the 
staff of officers of a railroad, the Chief Accounting 
Officer should be appointed by, and report directly to, 
the President, or the active operating executive officer, 1 
of whose office he should be considered a part. He 
should be the President's confidential man; which im- 
plies that he should be a man in whom the President 
can place implicit trust. This is important, as it will 
enable the Chief Accounting Officer to keep in close and 
intelligent touch with all the transactions of the com- 
pany, and will frequently result in preventing loss of 
revenue, and other embarrassments. His authority as 
to accounting methods should be supreme, but not arbi- 
trary. One railroad President is known to have said 
that he cheerfully took orders from his General Au- 
ditor with regard to the handling of accounts ; another, 
a Vice-President who was the active operating execu- 
tive, said that his Auditor, as his representative, was 
entitled to' receive all information with regard to* the 
affairs of the company to which he himself was entitled. 
Thus it will be seen that the Chief Accounting Officer 
has: come to be regarded as a very important factor in 
connection with railroad operation. 

1 Sometimes it happens that a railroad president is a financier, and 
the active operation of the property is in charge of a vice-president. To 
avoid complications, however, for the purpose of this paper it will be 
assumed that the active executive officer is the president. 



THE CHIEF ACCOUNTING OFFICER 269 

The organization of the Accounting Department 
naturally falls under three heads — receipts, disburse- 
ments, and general accounts. These three divisions' are 
sometimes subdivided. For example, receipts are sep- 
arated into passenger, freight, and miscellaneous 
revenue, and an officer is placed in charge of each sub- 
division. The disbursements likewise are sometimes 
subdivided, though not very often. Some roads have 
an Auditor of Motive Power Accounts, an Auditor of 
Maintenance Accounts, and so on ; but usually, where a 
road is large enough to justify a separate disbursement 
office, the Auditor of Disbursements has charge of that 
division of the accounting work. Similarly, the gen- 
eral accounts are sometimes subdivided. The titles of 
the divisions mentioned will readily indicate the class 
of accounts to be handled by each. 

The duties of the Chief Accounting Officer, which 
will now be briefly considered, may be classified under 
three headings : ( 1 ) properly to safeguard and ac- 
count for all of the revenue of the company; (2) to pre- 
sent to the President and other officers a true history 
of what has been accomplished, more or less in detail, 
according to conditions; (3) to call the attention of 
the President or other officers' to any unfavorable or 
favorable conditions or circumstances which may come 
to his knowledge. The detail of work performed by 
the branches of the department handling receipts and 
disbursements' will not be entered upon here, as it will 
be treated of in detail by experts who are in daily con- 
tact with this side of the work. 



270 RAILWAY ORGANIZATION AND WORKING 

I. PROPER SAFEGUARDING AND ACCOUNTING FOR ALL 
OF THE REVENUE OF THE COMPANY 

Naturally, the duty of greatest importance, and first 
to be considered, is that of ascertaining that every pen- 
ny of the revenue of the company is properly accounted 
for. Other contributors to this volume will show how 
this is done with regard to> receipts and disbursements- 
The duty of the Chief Accounting Officer is to place 
those departments in the hands of men who are thor- 
oughly competent, honest, and loyal. 

Under the head of receipts are classified all earnings 
of the company from transportation of freight, pas- 
sengers, etc. A system of reports, remittances, etc., 
must be put into effect which, when audited, will 
readily show whether all of the revenue that should be 
collected by agents, .conductors, and others has been 
actually collected and remitted to the treasurer of the 
company. The Chief Accounting Officer should give 
his careful and earnest attention to the details of the 
methods employed for that purpose, and should give 
his approval of the entire scheme. After such approval 
has been given, no> change should be made by the sub- 
ordinate accounting officer in charge of receipts, either 
in instructions, form of reports, methods, or otherwise, 
without the approval of the Chief Accounting Officer. 
It is proper for the subordinate officer in charge of re- 
ceipts to conduct the business of his department without 
taking up the time of the Chief Accounting Officer, so 
long as' no* deviations are made in methods, forms, or 
instructions ; but he should never make any such devia- 



THE CHIEF ACCOUNTING OFFICER 271 

tions without the approval of his superior. Under this 
system the Chief Accounting Officer keeps in touch 
with the methods and plans' for doing the work, but is 
not unnecessarily annoyed with details. 

All the subordinate accounting officers should make 
a regular ( preferably ,a weekly) report, in the form of 
a letter, or in such other form as may be prescribed, 
to the Chief Accounting Officer, giving the condition 
of the work, so that the latter may at all times have his 
fingers on the pulse of the various branches of his de- 
partment. 

What has just been said in regard to receipts is 
also true with reference to disbursements. A complete 
and thorough plan for auditing all money paid out by 
the company should be provided and approved by the 
Chief Accounting Officer, under which the Auditor of 
Disbursements will work, making no changes whatever 
in the blanks, instructions, or methods without the 
approval of his chief. 

Leaving these two branches relating to receipts and 
disbursements, it will be proper to proceed to* an out- 
line of the general accounts, which usually are, and 
always ought to be, handled by the Chief Accounting 
Officer himself. 

What is known as the "general ledger" should be 
kept by the Chief Accounting Officer as the one book 
in which all of the transactions of the company are 
finally recorded. For convenience, and to* facilitate the 
work, various sub-ledgers are kept, in which the details 
of certain accounts are recorded, and from which the 



272 RAILWAY ORGANIZATION AND WORKING 

net result of the transactions for each month is trans- 
ferred to the general ledger. In all railroad account- 
ing, the books are closed as soon as possible after the 
end of each month. General balance sheets, exhibiting 
the financial status of the company at the close of the 
month, and statements showing the income account for 
the last month, and for the fiscal year to the close of the 
last month, are rendered, and copies are furnished to 
the persons designated by the president as entitled to 
receive them. Obviously the transactions' of a large 
railroad company are so> numerous that it would be 
physically impossible for any one man to> transcribe 
them all on one general ledger, and the use of sub- 
ledgers, or auxiliary ledgers, enables a large number of 
men to work on the accounts for one month at the same 
time. 

It must be understood that the primary object of 
this general ledger, and of all the sub-ledgers, is to 
provide a method for ascertaining that the revenue of 
the company is all properly accounted for. For ex- 
ample, the station agents must be debited, through 
proper reports and records, with all the revenue that 
should be collected by them, and they must be credited 
with all of the money which they remit to the Treas- 
urer; the balance represents money which for some 
reason has not been collected, and which subsequently 
must be accounted for. If an agent has been debited 
with an erroneous item, he must make proper applica- 
tion for credit — or "relief," as it is termed in railroad 
parlance; and if his application is found to have merit, 
the erroneous debit will be withdrawn ; and so on. This 



THE CHIEF ACCOUNTING OFFICER 273 

process must be accurate, to the detail of every way- 
bill, every ticket, every car switched, every item of ex- 
cess baggage, storage, etc., collected; so that at any 
time the complete details of the items due from any in- 
dividual agent may be stated on short notice. Like- 
wise, conductors are debited with what they collect, and 
are credited with what they remit to the treasurer. 

Other companies, firms, individuals, etc., are similarly 
debited with what is due from them, and credited with 
what is due to them. They are also< debited with the 
cash paid to them, and credited with the cash received 
from them ; so that the status of the account at the end 
of the month shows the balance due to or from each 
railroad company, firm, individual, etc. ; or from them 
all as a whole. This process is followed all the way 
through, the object being to place a debit against some 
agent, company, firm, or individual for every penny 
due the railway company, and to place a credit for 
every penny received by the company, and every penny 
due to such companies, firms, individuals, etc. In this 
way the net result at the end of each month will show 
the balance due to or from each company, firm, or indi- 
vidual, or to or from all of them as a whole. 

Ordinarily, the sub-ledgers that are kept in detail, 
and the net result of the transactions for the month 
posted in the general ledger, are as follows : 

Freight-accounts ledger, kept by the Freight Accounting 
Officer. 

Passenger-accounts ledger, kept by the Passenger Accounting 
Officer. 



274 RAILWAY ORGANIZATION AND WORKING 

Record of vouchers audited, kept by the Disbursements 
Accounting Officer. 

Record of bills audited, kept by the Disbursements Account- 
ing Officer. 

Material ledger, kept by the Disbursements Accounting Officer. 

Freight-traffic, passenger-traffic, and car-service ledgers, either 
three separate ledgers, or all in one — kept by the Chief Accounting 
Officer. 

Miscellaneous accounts with other companies and individuals, 
covered by audited bills rendered — kept by the Chief Accounting 
Officer. 

Station agents' ledger, kept by the Chief Accounting Officer. 

In some cases' many other sub-ledgers are kept, ac- 
cording to 1 local conditions, the principal object being to 
keep the general ledger free from voluminous details. 

A few words about each of the ledgers mentioned 
may be of interest. 

General ledger. — The general ledger should be kept 
by a thoroughly experienced bookkeeper, who* is' abso- 
lutely trustworthy and loyal. No entries should be 
permitted to be made in the general ledger without the 
approval of the Chief Accounting Officer. The entries 
to be made in the general ledger should be from 
three sources only — audited vouchers payable, audited 
bills' collectible, and journal vouchers. 

In making entries in the general ledger, such expres 
sions as "sundries," "various," etc., should be avoided, 
but in the column provided for describing the nature 
of the entry a comprehensive description should always 
be written. This description should be sufficient to 
indicate clearly the nature of the debit or credit, with- 
out making it necessary to refer to the voucher, bill, or 



THE CHIEF ACCOUNTING OFFICER 275 

journal voucher for such information. Formerly all 
journal vouchers were entered in a journal, and post- 
ings to the ledger were made from the journal. The 
journal is superfluous, because all postings may be 
made more accurately and economically direct from 
vouchers, bills', and journal vouchers. 

Freight-accounts ledger. — This ledger is kept by the 
Freight Accounting Officer, and records all debits and 
credits to station agents and other railroad companies' 
in connection with the freight traffic of the line, except 
cash payments and receipts. In other words, this 
ledger is to contain a record of every penny due to and 
from the railway company on account of freight traf- 
fic. From this ledger, or from transcripts furnished 
the Chief Accounting Officer monthly, debits and credits 
are made in the freight-traffic ledger and the station- 
accounts ledger. From the freight-accounts ledger 
are obtained the total earnings' on freight traffic. 

Passenger-accounts ledger. — This ledger is kept by 
the Passenger Accounting Officer, and in it are re- 
corded all debits and credits to station agents, other 
railroad companies, etc., except cash payments and re- 
ceipts on account of passenger business. This ledger 
should contain a record of every cent due to or from 
the railway company on account of passenger traffic. 
From the ledger, or from a transcript thereof, which 
is furnished the Chief Accounting Officer each month, 
debits and credits are made in the passenger-traffic 
ledger and the station agents' ledger. From the pas- 
senger-accounts ledger is obtained the total earnings 
on passenger traffic. 



276 RAILWAY ORGANIZATION AND WORKING 

Record of vouchers audited. — This record is kept 
by the Disbursements Accounting Officer, and in it is' 
recorded every voucher representing money to be paid 
by the company. This record shows the name of the 
payee, a description of the expenditure, and the account 
to be charged with the amount of the payment. At the 
close of each month a transcript of the footings of this 
record is furnished to the Chief Accounting Officer in 
the shape of a journal voucher, and such footings or 
totals are entered in the general ledger. All vouchers 
payable which contain debits or credits' to> general- 
ledger accounts (accounts the details of which are 
kept in the general ledger) should be referred to the 
Chief Accounting Officer for posting in the general 
ledger before the audit of the voucher is completed. 

Record of bills audited. — This record is kept by the 
Disbursements Accounting Officer, and contains a 
record of every bill against other railroad companies, 
individuals, firms, etc., representing money to be col- 
lected by the company. The record shows the name of 
the party against whom the bill is rendered, the nature 
of the bill, and the account to be credited. All bills 
containing debits or credits to general-ledger accounts 
should be referred to the Chief Accounting Officer, to 
be posted in the general ledger before the audit of the 
bill is completed. As in the case of audited vouchers, 
a transcript of this record, in the shape of a journal 
voucher, is furnished the Chief Accounting Officer at 
the close of each month, to' be posted in the general 
ledger. 

Material ledger. — This ledger is kept by the Dis- 



THE CHIEF ACCOUNTING OFFICER 277 

bursements Accounting Officer, and contains a record 
of all material received, used, sold, transferred from 
one shop to another or from one operating department 
to another, as well as the balance on hand at the close 
of the month. A transcript showing the net result of 
the various debits and credits in this ledger is furnished 
the Chief Accounting Officer each month, to be posted 
in the general ledger. 

Freight-traffic, Passenger-traffic, and car-service 
ledgers. — In these ledgers, which are kept by the Chief 
Accounting Officer, are entered all debits and credits to 
other railroads and transportation companies on ac- 
count of interline freight traffic, interline passenger 
traffic, interline car service, or per diem paid and 
received in exchange of cars among railroad companies. 

Debits and credits to interline freight accounts of 
other railroads, except cash receipts and payments, 
are posted from data furnished by the Freight Account- 
ing Officer. 2 Such debits or credits represent the net 
balance agreed upon with other companies before they 
are posted, and are subject to sight draft on the 
Treasurer of the debtor company. 

Debits and credits to interline ticket accounts', ex- 
cept cash receipts and payments, are posted from data 
furnished by the Passenger Accounting Officer, 3 and 
represent the amount of interline ticket sales reported 
by and to other companies. The amounts of reports 
rendered by other companies are, of course, debits, and 
those rendered to other companies' are credits to such 

3 See remarks regarding freight-accounts ledger. 
3 See remarks under passenger-accounts ledger. 



278 RAILWAY ORGANIZATION AND WORKING 

companies. The balances arrived at by ascertaining the 
difference between the reports rendered to and by other 
companies are subject to settlement by sight draft on 
the Treasurer of the debtor company. 

The debits and credits to car-service accounts, ex- 
cept cash receipts and payments, like those to ticket 
accounts, represent the amounts of reports rendered to 
and by other companies, and are based on journal 
vouchers prepared by the officer who has charge of the 
car-service accounts, or from journal vouchers sup- 
ported by statements rendered by such officer. The 
balances arrived at by ascertaining the difference be- 
tween the reports rendered to and by other companies 
are subject to settlement by draft on the Treasurer of 
the debtor company. 

The agreed balances due to or from other railroad 
companies should be posted in the freight-traffic ledger 
daily as fast as agreed upon, and drafts' should be 
made daily for such balances when they represent 
money due from other companies. The amounts of all 
reports' rendered to< other companies covering ticket 
sales, car service, or per diem should be entered when 
the reports are rendered. Reports received from other 
railroads should be posted daily as received, and all 
balances due other companies should be drawn for daily. 
If this rule is observed carefully, the revenue of the 
company is' collected promptly and placed in the treas- 
ury, where it belongs, without delay. 

All cash receipts and payments in settlement of 
freight, ticket, and car-service accounts represented by 
drafts' and remittances are entered in detail in these 



THE CHIEF ACCOUNTING OFFICER 279 

ledgers to the debit or credit of the various accounts. 
At the close of the month the net result of the debits 
and credits on these ledgers is transferred to the gen- 
eral ledger through a journal voucher, so that the gen- 
eral ledger will represent the net result of all trans- 
actions recorded on the sub-ledgers'. 

The freight, passenger, and car-service accounts are 
sometimes kept in one ledger and sometimes in sep- 
arate ledgers, according to the volume of business. 

Miscellaneous accounts with other companies and 
individuals, covered by audited bills rendered. — A sep- 
arate ledger, or a series of ledgers, is kept by the Chief 
Accounting Officer, in which are entered all charges to 
other companies and individuals, through audited bills 
rendered, using a separate page for each company, ex- 
cept in the case of certain individuals against whom 
bills are rarely rendered, which are grouped together 
in alphabetical order, under the heading "miscellane- 
ous." This ledger should show the number of the bill, 
its nature, the amount, the date on which rendered or 
sent out for collection, and to whom it is sent. The 
cash received in settlement of bills should be posted in 
detail in this ledger, so that at any time a detailed list 
of unsettled bills' against any company or individual 
may be drawn off at a moment's notice. 

This' ledger should be examined very frequently by 
a competent clerk, and statements requesting settle- 
ment should be sent to all companies and individuals 
when bills become overdue. 

With railroads where the number of bills rendered 
is large, the following division of three ledgers is 



280 RAILWAY ORGANIZATION AND WORKING 

recommended: (a) claims ledger; (b) transportation 
companies — miscellaneous bills'; (c) other companies 
and individuals — miscellaneous bills. Such a division 
facilitates, by segregation, the balancing of accounts 
at the close of the month, and has the advantage of 
keeping in a separate ledger bills' rendered against in- 
dividuals, and companies other than transportation 
companies, the status of which should be watched very 
closely, because such bills should usually be paid within 
a few days after they are rendered. The miscellaneous 
bills against transportation companies are not paid so 
promptly as those against individuals, on account of 
the routine through which they pass before they are 
ready for payment. The settlement of bills on account 
o<f claims is usually a little slower than that of mis- 
cellaneous' bills; hence the above separation is recom- 
mended. 

At the close of the month the net result of the vari- 
ous debits and credits entered in this ledger is trans- 
ferred to the general ledger by journal voucher, so that 
the general ledger will contain a record of the net 
result of the transactions recorded in detail in this 
ledger. 

Station agents' ledger. — In this ledger are recorded 
all debits and credits to station agents from data fur- 
nished by the Freight Accounting Officer and Passen- 
ger Accounting Officer, 4 as' well as all the cash remit- 
tances received from station agents. At the close of 
the month the net result of all the debits and credits 

4 See remarks under freight-accounts ledger and passenger-accounts 
ledger. 



THE CHIEF ACCOUNTING OFFICER 281 

on this ledger is transferred to the general ledger by 
journal voucher, in order that the general ledger may 
contain a record of the result of all transactions 
entered in detail on this ledger. 

It is important that the station agents' ledger be 
watched very closely, to see that agents remit the 
amounts collected by them promptly and in accord- 
ance with the instructions, A sufficient force of Trav- 
eling Auditors should be employed to examine the 
accounts of all agents at least twice each year, in order 
to ascertain if their accounts are being kept according 
to instructions; if they are correct and do not contain 
any items that would not be disclosed by the monthly 
reports te> the Accounting Department ; and if the cash 
on hand on the date of the examination is sufficient to 
cover the balance due the railway company on that 
date. 

In addition to the foregoing ledgers, which as a rule 
are kept by the Chief Accounting Officer of all rail- 
roads, others are frequently employed; but the same 
principle governs all, viz. : the details of the various 
transactions will be recorded in the sub-ledgers, and 
the results of such transactions will be transferred to 
the general ledger by journal voucher each month. 
The fact that the final result of every transaction of the 
railroad company should be recorded in the general 
ledger should never be lost sight of. 

Besides the Traveling Auditors, Traveling Ac- 
countants should be employed to examine at short in- 
tervals the accounts of the various division officers, in 
order to ascertain if they are being handled accurately 



282 RAILWAY ORGANIZATION AND WORKING 

and intelligently. Occasional examinations should also 
be made of the accounts of express companies, union 
depot companies, and all other companies in which the 
railroad whose books' are under consideration has an 
interest. Such examinations should be made from the 
original entries and books of the companies, to the 
end that the Chief Accounting Officer may at all times 
know that every dollar of the revenue, whether due 
from an agent, conductor, railroad company, express 
company, union depot company, etc., is properly 
accounted for. This inspection of the accounts of 
other companies is not for the purpose of examining 
their interline freight, ticket, and car-service accounts, 
because the company whose books are under considera- 
tion should have at all times in its own files data with 
which to' verify the accounts' of such companies. 

The foregoing, in a general way, outlines the duties 
of the Chief Accounting Officer under the head of 
"proper safeguarding and accounting for all of the 
revenue of the company." Of course, an entire paper 
could be written on any one of these items, but space 
will not permit of further mention here. 

II. PRESENTING TO THE PRESIDENT AND OTHER OFFICERS 
A TRUE HISTORY OF WHAT HAS BEEN ACCOM- 
PLISHED, MORE OR LESS IN DETAIL, ACCORDING 
TO CONDITIONS 

Under this heading it is necessary to classify the 
accounts of the company without regard to> any direct 
payment or receipt of revenue. The two principal 
statements used for furnishing a history of what has 



THE CHIEF ACCOUNTING OFFICER 283 

been accomplished are the balance-sheet and the income 
account. At the outset it should be borne in mind that 
the figures used in the balance-sheet and income ac- 
count must be those recorded in the general ledger. 
No item should ever be entered in either of these reports 
which is not recorded in the general ledger ; therefore it 
is necessary, in preparing the headings for the accounts 
in the general ledger, to have due regard for the 
requirements' of the balance-sheet and income account, 
as well as' to provide for determining that all of the 
revenue of the company is properly accounted for. 

Balance-sheet. — The balance-sheet, which is fre- 
quently called the "general balance-sheet," contains a 
complete statement of all the accounts on the general 
ledger, including those shown in the income account. 
This report requires a classification of accounts into 
"assets" and "liabilities," The asset accounts are 
shown on the debit, or left-hand, side of the balance- 
sheet, and the liability accounts on the credit, or right- 
hand, side. 

The asset accounts are further divided into "proper- 
ty accounts" and "operating current accounts." The 
property accounts represent the cost of the plant or 
railroad property operated, being usually divided into 
(a) cost of railroad franchises, and (b) equipment. 
In the early days of railroad bookkeeping equipment 
was not always kept separately, and even today some 
companies have not introduced this feature. Such 
separate account is, however, very desirable. 

The operating current assets represent the accounts 
which are being realized upon from day to day and 



284 RAILWAY ORGANIZATION AND WORKING 

from month to' month, such as : cash on hand ; balance 
due from station agents and conductors; balance due 
from other railroads, transportation companies, and in- 
dividuals; balance due from express companies; bal- 
ance due from the United States government as com- 
pensation for carrying mail; material and supplies on 
hand; etc. They are the accounts which, if the opera- 
tion of the property were discontinued and the railroad 
abandoned, would all be disposed of by cash settle- 
ments, barring a few which might not be collectible. 

The liabilities are classified into "capital or property 
liabilities" and "current or operating liabilities." The 
capital or property liabilities usually represent the 
amount of capital stock and funded debt outstanding 
against the property. The current or operating liabili- 
ties represent amounts due to other railroads, trans- 
portation companies, and individuals, to* various states 
for taxes accrued but not paid, unpaid wages not called 
for, etc. Like the current or operating assets, they 
are those which, if the operation of the property were 
discontinued, would be closed out by cash settlements. 

In the balance-sheet is also included, on the debit 
or credit side as the case may be, the balance of the 
income account. If there is' a surplus, the total assets 
will exceed the total liabilities, in which case the bal- 
ance of the income account is entered on the credit 
side of the balance-sheet and forms a perfect balance 
for the two sides. In case of a deficit, the balance of 
liabilities will exceed the assets', and the balance of in- 
come account will be entered on the debit side of the 
balance-sheet, thus also forming a perfect balance. 



THE CHIEF ACCOUNTING OFFICER 285 

The total debits on the balance-sheet should always 
equal the total credits to a cent. 

With regard to classifying expenditure, account- 
ants of the present day appreciate more fully than their 
predecessors the importance of charging to the property 
account all actual additions to the plant in the shape of 
additional track, structures, rolling-stock, etc. ; also of 
making proper charges to the property account when 
an existing structure or a portion of the property is 
materially improved; as, for example, when a pile 
bridge is replaced by a steel structure, or when a wooden 
depot which cost $2,000 is' replaced by a stone struc- 
ture costing $15,000. The original structures in such 
cases are more or less temporary, and, when they are 
replaced with more expensive and practically permanent 
structures, an appropriate increase should be made in 
the property account, and operating expenses under the 
head of maintenance should be charged with approxi- 
mately what it would cost to renew the old temporary 
structure throughout in kind. In past years, when ac- 
counting for the expenditures of railroads, this impor- 
tant feature did not receive the attention given it today. 
It is doubtless a fact that many substantial improve- 
ments were charged to operating expenses because of 
the failure to draw the line properly between expendi- 
tures for additions to the property and expenditures 
for the maintenance of existing property. It is also 
doubtless true that many new sidetracks, and entirely 
new and additional buildings, have been charged to 
operating expenses of the different companies through- 
out the United States. Subsequently some of these ex- 



286 RAILWAY ORGANIZATION AND WORKING 

penditures' were capitalized, as was proper, which gave 
color to the accusation that the stock was watered. 
Even though the directors may voluntarily decide to 
pay for certain improvements out of the net income of 
the company, after taxes and fixed charges have been 
provided for, yet it is desirable and necessary to keep 
the expenditures separate, so that the total actual cost 
of the property is always known. 

The foregoing is simply an outline of the balance- 
sheet, which should be rendered in sufficient detail, 
according to requirements and local conditions', to ex- 
hibit the status of all accounts on the ledger. A com- 
parison should also be arranged, so that the increases 
or fluctuations of the different accounts may be seen 
from an examination of the balance-sheet. 

This report is the foundation of the whole structure 
of the accounts of a railroad. It is deserving of very 
careful attention by the Chief Accounting Officer, and 
careful perusal by the executive officer. 

Income account. — The statement of income account 
shows the total gross earnings, of the railway com- 
pany, usually classified as freight earnings, passenger 
earnings', mail earnings, express earnings, telegraph 
earnings, and miscellaneous earnings. From the total 
o>f these classes of gross earnings are deducted the total 
operating expenses, usually classified as follows' : main- 
tenance of way and structures, maintenance of equip- 
ment, conducting transportation, general expenses. 

The amount left, after deducting the total operat- 
ing expenses from the total gross earnings, represents 
what is termed in railroad parlance the "net earnings" 



THE CHIEF ACCOUNTING OFFICER 287 

of the company. To these net earnings are added in- 
come from interest on bank balances, interest on mis- 
cellaneous obligations due the company, dividends on 
stocks owned, interest on bonds owned, rents of prop- 
erty not used in the operation of the road, etc. The 
sum of the net earnings and this miscellaneous income 
represents the total income of the property. From that 
amount are deducted the amount paid for taxes, the 
fixed charges representing interest on bonds, or 
mortgage debt outstanding, rental of property leased 
from other companies, etc. After the total amount 
paid for taxes and fixed charges has been deducted 
from the total income, the balance left is applicable to 
dividends, or may be used in the improvement of the 
property, or in such other way as the directors of the 
company may see fit. 

The foregoing brief statement of the income account 
is supported by other statements, more or less in detail 
for the purpose of making intelligent comparison with 
the previous results from operation, in order that any 
increases or decreases may be discovered, and their 
cause located. Such detailed statements prevail more 
largely with regard to operating expenses than with 
any other of the classes of items mentioned. 

Sometimes the freight earnings are segregated into 
a few classes, which is true also of passenger earnings ; 
but great detail is observed with regard to operating 
expenses. The Interstate Commerce Commission some 
years ago issued a classification of operating expenses 
required in the compilation of reports of railroads to 
that body, and that classification has been largely 



288 RAILWAY ORGANIZATION AND WORKING 

adopted by railroads throughout the country. Some 
railroad companies compile further details than are re- 
quired by the commission, but it is usually done by 
subdividing the different accounts of the commission 
classification. 

Any discussion of the detailed classification of oper- 
ating expenses belongs more properly to the paper on 
disbursements accounts; hence this will not be further 
dealt with here. Suffice it to say that all the items 
mentioned in the foregoing statement of income account 
should be supported by sufficient details to> make it 
possible to' locate and explain any appreciable increase 
or decrease in any of the items comprising the account. 

The theory of the arrangement of the items of the 
income account, stated herein, is as follows': The 
owners of the railway property turn it over to' an oper- 
ating executive, who has charge of all its operations, 
and who is expected to secure satisfactory operating 
results. In order to show the results of his operation 
of the property, the operating executive should include, 
under the heads of the various classes of gross earn- 
ings and operating expenses, every cent of receipts or 
expenditure in direct connection with the operation of 
the road, and, on the other hand, should not be permit- 
ted so to include any receipts or expenditures not con- 
nected with the direct operation. If this plan is followed 
carefully, the item of net earnings will correctly repre- 
sent the net return which the operating official presents 
as the result of the operation of the property. To that 
item may be added receipts from sources not directly 
connected with the operation of the property ; and from 



THE CHIEF ACCOUNTING OFFICER 289 

this total income will be paid the taxes on the property, 
the interest on the funded debt covering the property, 
and other items known as fixed charges'; leaving the 
balance, or net income, to be disposed of by the direc- 
tors. It is believed that this arrangement is logical, 
and also that it has the advantage of fixing the respon- 
sibility of the operating official. If the item of net 
earnings should be arrived at by including any receipts 
or expenditures not connected with the operation of the 
property, the term would have little meaning. 

In addition to the statement of income account, all 
of the principal items of increase and decrease in the 
details thereof should be investigated, and a written 
explanation of such increases and decreases' should be 
furnished the President or other executive official 
monthly by the Chief Accounting Officer. 

The form of income account used by some railroads 
may be much more elaborate than here outlined, accord- 
ing to the requirements' and local conditions, but it is 
believed that the foregoing is a good foundation upon 
which to build more elaborate structures. 

With regard to balance-sheet and income-account 
statement, it is recommended that the balance-sheet 
show the total debit or credit balance in each account, 
as of date the balance-sheet is rendered, the increase 
or decrease during the current month, and the increase 
or decrease during the current fiscal year. It is also 
recommended that the income-account statement show 
the results for the current month and for the current 
fiscal year to date, compared with the same month of 



290 RAILWAY ORGANIZATION AND WORKING 

the preceding year and the corresponding period of the 
preceding fiscal year. 

In order to make proper comparisons of the monthly 
income account, estimated charges should be made 
monthly to taxes, interest on funded debt, and all other 
items', entering into the composition of the income ac- 
count, which are not paid monthly. Such monthly esti- 
mate should represent, according to the best information 
obtainable, the amount that would accrue for that 
month if the settlements were actually made monthly. 
As such estimated charges are made to> taxes, interest 
on funded debt, etc., they should be credited to> the 
proper accommodation accounts to which the payments 
should be charged when actually made. Likewise, in 
compiling operating expenses for a month, when large 
items accrue which are chargeable or creditable to oper- 
ating expenses', but which have not been taken into the 
accounts through the regular channels, due to> some 
delay in settlement, then estimates should be charged 
or credited toi operating expenses, and taken into an 
accommodation account, so that the statements which 
are rendered will represent as nearly as possible, from 
the best information obtainable, the operating expenses 
of the month, whether the cash has actually been paid 
or not. 

The purpose of the operating-expense statements is 
not to record the receipts and expenditures on account 
of operating expenses, but to record the cost of operat- 
ing the property during a definite period. They are 
history, and as such should be accurate. 



THE CHIEF ACCOUNTING OFFICER 291 

For example, suppose that A uses, under a long-time 
lease, sixty miles of track belonging to B, and pays 
therefor large sums for rental and for its proportion 
of the operating expenses. Suppose, further, that, 
through the failure of B to render bill for the month of 
January, or through the failure of A to record a proper 
voucher in favor of B covering payment for the use 
of the line, A's operating expenses for January have 
not been charged in the regular way with its portion of 
the operating expenses of that part of the line. Cer- 
tainly the operating expenses of A should not be 
relieved of all charges on account of that sixty miles of 
road during the month of January. A has used the 
road, has incurred the expense, and owes the liability 
for such expense. Therefore, by debting the operating 
expenses with the estimated amounts due B, and credit- 
ing B through the accommodation account, the operat- 
ing expenses are more accurately stated, as also are 
the liabilities of the company, than if the account had 
been omitted entirely. In fact, omission of the account 
would make the history wrong. Hence it is a common 
practice among railroads to make monthly estimates of 
items of expenditure which accrue, but which are 
either not due or not in shape for payment at the 
time the accounts for the month must be closed. 

Of course, other statements are presented to the 
President and to other officials, which contain a history 
of the operation of the property, showing train mileage, 
car mileage, tons one mile, passengers one mile, earn- 
ings per train, earnings per car, etc., etc. These may 
be multiplied according to requirements or local condi- 



292 RAILWAY ORGANIZATION AND WORKING 

tions, but the balance-sheet and income account are 
never omitted ; they are standard. 

III. TO CALL THE ATTENTION OF THE PRESIDENT OR 
OTHER OFFICERS TO ANY FAVORABLE OR UNFAVOR- 
ABLE CONDITIONS OR CIRCUMSTANCES WHICH 
MAY COME TO THE KNOWLEDGE OF THE CHIEF 
ACCOUNTING OFFICER 

It is difficult to explain in detail just what should 
be done under this heading ; so much depends upon cir- 
cumstances. The Chief Accounting Officer, however, in 
his daily contact with the accounts of the company, 
will, through statements and comparisons, develop 
matters of interest — sometimes favorable, sometimes 
unfavorable — which should be promptly brought to the 
attention of the proper officer, when it is not within the 
jurisdiction or power of the Chief Accounting Officer 
finally to dispose of the matter. To this end, as well as 
with the object of promoting accuracy, it is' recommend- 
ed that the various results be tabulated in books pro- 
vided for the purpose, in such a manner that the results 
from each item for the current month will be entered 
directly under or alongside of the results for the pre- 
vious month, and the result for the corresponding 
month in the preceding year, together with the continu- 
ous results throughout the year. By having the infor- 
mation stated in this way, any unusual increases or de- 
creases will be readily apparent, and should be investi- 
gated. If the investigation develops any conditions 
which cannot be finally dealt with by the Chief Account- 
ing Officer, it should be reported to the President or 



THE CHIEF ACCOUNTING OFFICER 293 

proper official of the company, for necessary attention. 

The Accounting Officer should not confine himself 
to simply accounting propositions, but should be 
broad-minded and endeavor to take in all the conditions 
of the operation of the property. Sometimes' the results 
recorded in his office will show that the equipment 
owned by the railway company is slipping away to 
other lines too rapidly; or the records may show that 
the company is holding its own remarkably well in 
keeping the equipment on the line. Both favorable and 
unfavorable conditions should be noted and reported. 
The practice is too< common of reporting all unfavor- 
able conditions, and tx> preserve silence with regard to 
favorable conditions — a practice easy to acquire and 
difficult to abandon. The records' may show that 
a certain class of material — as, for example, coal — is 
costing too much; or that it is being purchased very 
economically ; in either case the fact should be reported 
promptly. In fact, the Accounting Officer should have 
his' eyes and ears open all the time, to detect matters of 
interest to his superior officers, and should not hesi- 
tate to report such matters without fear or favor. 

This paper would be exceedingly deficient if the 
all-important subject of providing proper help should 
be omitted. The Chief Accounting Officer personally 
can do practically none of the work outlined herein. He 
must depend upon others to perform the work for him. 
Therefore, this peculiarly important phase is left to be 
dealt with in a few closing words. 

Most people will recognize at once that for his' lieu- 
tenants in charge of the different departments the Chief 



294 RAILWAY ORGANIZATION AND WORKING 

Accounting Officer must have men of undoubted loyal- 
ty, ability, integrity, and possessed of character which 
commands the respect of all. And it may be added 
that precisely the same qualities should be required of 
the office boy who starts at the bottom. The best 
results will be obtained by following civil-service rules ; 
filling all vacancies by promotions whenever it is possi- 
ble to do so>. This encourages all to look forward to 
promotion when earned and when the opportunity 
arises. If the same care is used in hiring the office boy 
as in hiring the Auditor, employees worthy of promo- 
tion will be found in all intermediate positions. To do 
this successfully requires a practical knowledge of 
human nature as well as of accounting methods. 



THE AUDITOR OF EXPENDITURES 

HARRY M. SLOAN, AUDITOR OF DISBURSEMENTS, CHI- 
CAGO, ROCK ISLAND & PACIFIC RAILWAY 

Before looking into the methods to be pursued in 
accounting for the expenditures of a railway property, 
it may be well to arrive at a thorough understanding of 
just what the word "expenditures" means. While my 
subject has been outlined as dealing with the "Auditor 
of Expenditures," the term selected is not now so 
generally used in railway parlance as is the term 
"Auditor of Disbursements." Webster's Unabridged 
Dictionary defines the first term — viz., "expenditures" 
— as follows: "the act of expending; a laying-out, as 
of money; disbursements;" and the verb "expend" is 
defined: "to lay out, apply, or employ in any way; to 
consume by use; to use up or distribute, either in pay- 
ments or in donations; to employ; to dissipate; to 
waste." The term "disburse" is defined : "to pay out 
or expend;" and "disbursement," as "the act of dis- 
bursing or paying out." From this it will be seen that 
it is largely a matter of personal taste whether the term 
"disbursement" or "expenditure" is used. 

Some people are unkind and unthoughtful enough 
to apply to us the appellation "auditor of disturbances ;" 
and, if the truth must be told, some railway employees 
and officials are so averse to' having an account audited 
that bears their approval that the auditor must at 
times take such drastic steps to secure enough informa- 

295 



296 RAILWAY ORGANIZATION AND WORKING 

tion to enable him to pass the paper for payment that 
he becomes a disturbing element, at least to the 
employee under investigation; hence the title "auditor 
of disturbances." In my limited experience as an 
auditor I have also been addressed, by one of the coal- 
wharf foremen on the line of our road, in a Western 
Union message regarding the whereabouts of certain 
moneys due him as "editor of distribution." But, as 
it has been said of" the rose that it would, under any 
other name, smell just as sweet, so it is probably true 
that the Auditor of Expenditures, under any other 
title, would perform his duties just as satisfactorily or 
unsatisfactorily. 

Railway accounting resolves itself, in the end, into 
two distinct heads, viz., receipts and disbursements. 

"Receipts" must not be confounded with "revenue," 
inasmuch as the former is a much broader term than 
the latter; in fact, in the operation and financing of 
some of our great railway systems the revenue is quite 
small in comparison with the receipts. The term 
"receipts" would include amounts received by the com- 
pany for bonds and stock issued and sold, but such 
receipts would in no wise be a revenue ; again, it would 
include the total freight charges collected on a ship- 
ment originating on one line and routed via another 
line, while only a very small part of such collection 
might be revenue, or earnings. 

Most railways of any considerable size have an 
organization which provides for two Auditors of 
Receipts — viz., an Auditor of Freight Receipts and an 
Auditor of Passenger Receipts — and one Auditor of 



THE AUDITOR OF EXPENDITURES 297 

Disbursements. The three offices are conducted as dis- 
tinct organizations, so far as practicable. There are, 
however, a number of cases where the work of the 
different offices overlaps to a great extent. For 
instance, in the case of auditing the expenditures on 
account of loss and damage, and overcharge claims, 
there is a decided advantage in having such Loss and 
Damage and Overcharge Department either a part of, 
or very closely connected with, the office of the Auditor 
of Freight Receipts, owing to the fact that scarcely an 
"overcharge" or "loss and damage to- freight" claim 
is settled that does not have to> be checked more or less 
against the records in the office of the Auditor of 
Freight Receipts — that is, against the abstracts of the 
billing, or the original or copies of the bills themselves. 

On the other hand, there are certain receipts that can 
more economically be accounted for in the office of the 
Auditor of Disbursements; namely, those which affect 
the operating expenses of the road; or, as a matter of 
fact, any receipts not in the nature of revenue, other 
than those of a strictly financial character, which are 
usually taken care of by the Chief Accounting Officer. 
The accounting for such receipts is, in fact, simply a 
part of the work of auditing the disbursements. For in- 
stance, if one railway company operates a terminal 
which is used jointly by several other companies, the 
work of auditing the disbursements of that particular 
portion of the line is not complete until proper bills have 
been rendered against the tenant lines for their propor- 
tion of such expenditures. 

It might be mentioned here, in passing, that the 



298 RAILWAY ORGANIZATION AND WORKING 

question as to who is to see to it that such joint bills are 
promptly paid after they are audited is one upon which 
many roads differ. Some lines make this a part of the 
duty of the Auditor of Disbursements, while others' 
consider it the duty of the General Auditor's or 
Comptroller's office, the latter class holding that the 
duty of the Auditor of Disbursements has been per- 
formed when he audits the bill. This is not, however, 
a question of vital importance, the main point being to 
insure that such collections are closely followed up by 
whomsoever the General Auditor or Comptroller 
designates for that duty. 

Another phase of auditing on which a great many 
roads differ is the question of auditing construction 
expenditures. The settlement of this problem would 
seem to> hinge on the question of how closely the execu- 
tive management of a company desires such things 
looked after, and on the policy of the company in finan- 
cing such expenditures. In the opinion of the writer, 
if it is the policy of the company to issue bonds for all 
construction expenditures, including additions and 
improvements, such expenditures should be audited in 
the office of the highest accounting official : so< that he 
may at all times be entirely conversant with just what 
items are being charged against capital account, and 
convince himself that no such charges, however small, 
are made against this account without his personal 
approval. This opinion is supported by the fact that 
the executive officer, when seeking information as to 
accounts, invariably calls upon the highest accounting 
official for it, and keeps in close touch with the prog- 



THE AUDITOR OF EXPENDITURES 299 

ress of all construction work. Hence, as a matter of 
personal pride and of protection as well, the General 
Accounting Officer should have the details of the con- 
struction expenditures on the tip of his tongue; and, 
to have them there, he must have the details under his 
immediate surveillance. 

Expenditures or disbursements are made in a number 
of ways', but in the accounting all resolve themselves in 
the end into either "material" or "labor." 

"Material disbursements," as known in accounts, 
must not be understood to mean actual material and 
supplies ; for such is not the case. All payments other 
than those made on the pay-roll are usually treated as 
"material;" while, as a matter of fact, if such pay- 
ments were traced back to the inception of the expense, 
they might be found to- contain as high as 90 per cent, 
of labor charges. For instance, take contract payments, 
which are nearly always made by voucher and dis- 
tributed to the proper accounts through the material 
distribution ; probably 90 per cent, of most of these pay- 
ments are for labor. 

In accounting for "material" disbursements we have 
to* deal with vouchers, drafts, bills, material distribu- 
tion, and other mediums. Such claims as do> not 
demand immediate settlement are paid by voucher; 
e. g., payments for material, contract labor, amounts 
due other companies for proportion of cost of operating 
joint facilities, etc., etc. 

A voucher is a paper or document which serves' to 
vouch the truth of accounts, or confirm or establish 
facts. In railway parlance, it is the document on which 



300 RAILWAY ORGANIZATION AND WORKING 

the various officials certify that certain material has 
been received or certain labor performed ; it is' the evi- 
dence to the Accounting Department that the expense is 
a, proper one for the company to assume, and the 
medium through which the expense is settled. Vouch- 
ers usually show the name of the company paying them 
at the top; this being immediately followed by — 

To 

Dr. 

This is followed by a brief statement of the facts, out- 
lining what is being paid for, and the amount; all of 
which is then certified to by the officials whose certifica- 
tion is necessary before the payment can be made. On 
the bottom, of the form is provided space for the receipt 
of the payee. 

Such claims as demand immediate attention are paid 
by draft, drawn on the Treasurer of the company, by its 
duly accredited representatives. This class of claims 
includes many personal-injury claims, claims for loss 
by fire, and settlement for loss and damage of freight. 
A draft is an order for the payment of money, and 
usually reads somewhat as' follows : 

Pay to (John Smith) or order ($500.00) on demand 
To (Quincy Adams), Treasurer. 

Payments by draft should, so> far as possible, be dis- 
countenanced, inasmuch as it is, under usual conditions, 
impossible to audit the claim before the payment is 
made. If the payment be made to> an irresponsible 
party, the company is the only loser, unless the errone- 
ous payment is of such a nature that it can be collected 



THE AUDITOR OF EXPENDITURES 301 

from the company employee responsible for it; that is, 
in case the neglect or oversight of the representative 
is so palpable that it cannot be overlooked. 

Another class of settlements is made by drafts of 
foreign lines on the Treasurer of the home company. 
The majority of these drafts, however, represent set- 
tlement of freight or ticket balances, and consequently 
their correctness is verified by returns from the office 
of the Auditor of Freight of Passenger Receipts, as 
the case may be. 

As already stated, the auditing of an expenditure is 
not complete until all amounts due from others in con- 
nection with such expenditure have been collected. 
Such collections are made through the medium of bills. 
A bill is "an account of goods sold or delivered, services 
rendered, or work done, with the price or value annexed 
to each article." The auditing of bills will be described 
later. 

Still other disbursements are accounted for through 
the medium of the "material distribution," these dis- 
bursements covering the use of material after it has 
been purchased and charged to stock, and, under the 
plan in vogue on most railroads (if the writer is cor- 
rectly informed), including the distribution of the 
vouchers and bills to the expense accounts. This class 
of disbursements will also be more fully treated here- 
after. 

Let us now turn to the accounting in detail of dis- 
bursements made by voucher, after which we shall 
treat settlements by drafts, and the auditing of bills and 
material distributions, in order. 



302 RAILWAY ORGANIZATION AND WORKING 

Under the method in vogue on some railroads, every 
expenditure, of whatever nature, must be covered by an 
approved voucher; under the method in vogue on 
others, the payments by drafts are taken care of 
through the cash-book without a voucher; but, under 
either method, the payments by voucher for a road of 
more than 5,000 miles will run from $50,000,000 to 
$100,000,000 per annum, such payments being, in all 
cases, heavier than those through any other medium. 

Vouchers are prepared, in the first instance, by the 
department having immediate supervision over the ex- 
penditure. In the case of vouchers for material, they 
are prepared by the Purchasing Agent; in the case of 
vouchers for contract labor, they are prepared by the 
Superintendent or Engineer in immediate charge of the 
work ; and so on. 

The vouchers of most roads are prepared by the 
maker in such a manner that the Treasurer may, after 
the voucher has been approved for payment, affix his 
official stamp and make a sight draft of it, good at any 
bank he may designate. Some roads do not prepare 
their vouchers in this manner, but instead, after the 
voucher has been approved for payment, draw a check 
or warrant in payment, the only approvals on such 
check or warrant being those affixed in the Accounting 
Department. Each plan has its merits and its demerits ; 
but, taken all in all, the former commends itself to the 
writer as being the more economical and practicable. 
Under the former method, vouchers are prepared by 
the maker in triplicate, the original to be sent out by 
the Treasurer for payment, the duplicate to be retained 



THE AUDITOR OF EXPENDITURES 303 

by the maker, and the triplicate, with all supporting 
papers attached, to be filed in the office of the Auditor 
of Disbursements. 

When a voucher has been certified by the maker, it 
is passed to his immediate superior for certification and 
approval ; thence to the next superior officer, and so on, 
until it bears the approval of the head of the depart- 
ment originating it, after which it is sent to the Auditor 
of Disbursements to be audited. 

The method of auditing a voucher varies greatly on 
different roads. Some roads rely on the check given 
the voucher in the outside, or division, office through 
which it passes before it reaches the Auditor of Dis- 
bursements ; while others take nothing for granted. An 
Auditor of Disbursements of a road in the latter class is 
from Missouri — "he has to be showed." 

All vouchers, of whatever nature, when they reach 
the office of the Auditor of Disbursements, are given a 
number and entered on what is' known as the "voucher 
abstract." This abstract shows number, payee, what 
the voucher is for, amount, and distribution to the vari- 
ous accounts to which vouchers are charged. Here 
again roads differ greatly as to the method to be pur- 
sued. Some roads charge the voucher on the abstract 
to the person making it, or, in case of purchase vouch- 
ers, to the person to whom the material is shipped, 
and look to him to furnish a distribution of it to the 
different accounts — i. e., charging the different operat- 
ing or construction accounts, and crediting himself; 
while other roads make the charges direct to the vari- 
ous accounts in the general office. The former method, 



304 RAILWAY ORGANIZATION AND WORKING 

carefully and systematically carried out, commends 
itself to the writer. 

Material purchases' are covered by regularly approv- 
ed requisitions; that is to say, the Purchasing Agent 
can purchase nothing unless he has the approval of the 
head o-f the department ordering the material. This 
approved requisition is forwarded to the office of the 
Auditor of Disbursements, where it is conveniently 
filed, and any and all vouchers received from the Pur- 
chasing Agent's office are checked against such ap- 
proved requisitions before being paid, notation being 
made on the requisition to the effect that the voucher 
in payment of the same has been passed, showing there- 
on the number of such voucher. In the case of a pur- 
chase voucher, the only approval required is that of the 
Purchasing Agent, who< certifies that the material has' 
been purchased a,t the best price obtainable. It is 
obviously unnecessary for the purchase vouchers to> be 
certified by the head of the department ordering the 
material, inasmuch as his certification and approval 
appear on the original requisition for the material, 
which, as stated above, is on file in the office of the 
Auditor of Disbursements, and against which the 
voucher itself is checked before it is passed for payment. 

It will be apparent that it is impossible to pass a 
duplicate payment for material on any requisition, 
inasmuch as, when the second voucher is checked 
against the original requisition, it will be noted that 
the former voucher has been passed, and the second or 
duplicate voucher will consequently be canceled and 
returned to the maker. 



THE AUDITOR OF EXPENDITURES 305 

In the case of recurring payments (or receipts) — 
that is, payments that have to be made regularly once 
each month, each quarter, or each year, as the case 
may be — the matter is usually covered by contract or 
agreement, and the Auditor of Disbursements is 
furnished with a copy of each and every one of these 
contracts or agreements, in so far as they pertain to his 
department. These are filed in some suitable way, so 
that they may be readily located ; and when a voucher 
covering a payment provided for by contract reaches the 
Auditor, it is checked against the contract to the last 
detail, in order to see that the provisions of the contract 
are being fulfilled. 

These recurring payments are also checked against 
a record of recurring payments when they reach the 
Auditor's office. This record is usually kept in a loose- 
leaf ledger, and a separate sheet is provided for each 
contract or each recurring payment. The sheet shows 
on its face the parties between whom the agreement is 
made, the date when made, and the date of expiration, 
and carries, in addition, an abstract of the agreement. 
It shows by whom the voucher should be prepared, and 
the date on which it should be made. On the bottom 
of the form, space is provided for the record for that 
particular payment monthly for five years', each 
month's record showing the number of the voucher 
and the amount. This record is examined once a 
month to see that every regularly recurring payment 
has been audited. 

After purchase vouchers have been checked against 
the requisitions, and vouchers covered by contracts 



306 RAILWAY ORGANIZATION AND WORKING 

have been checked against the contracts, they are given 
to the distribution clerk, who checks' every addition, 
extension, and, so> far as possible, price, on the voucher. 
The distribution men — or checkers, as they might be 
called — are supposed to* see that every item included on 
any voucher is in the interest of the company; and if 
the vouchers do not show sufficient information on 
their face, or in the papers attached to them, to* satisfy 
the checkers that the payment is being made in the 
interest of the company, they are returned to the 
makers for further and necessary information. This 
information should be so full and complete that it will 
be a permanent record of just why the payment was 
made. 

All vouchers in payment for material or fuel shipped 
from off the line of the road must be accompanied by 
expense bills, showing either that there has been no 
freight paid, or how much has been paid. If the pur- 
chase contract calls for material free on board — in rail- 
way parlance, "f. o». b." — the line of road, there should 
be an expense bill toi accompany the voucher in pay- 
ment for such material. This expense bill will show 
either that the charges were paid by the consignor, or 
that they were advanced by the agent of the purchas- 
ing company at the junction point. If the expense bill 
shows the latter, it is the duty of the distribution clerk 
to see that the amount of freight charges so advanced is 
deducted from the invoice of the shipper and from the 
voucher in payment of such invoice. 

If the material is bought f. o. b. point of shipment, 
and such point is located off the line of the road, an 



THE AUDITOR OF EXPENDITURES 307 

expense bill is required in the same manner as in the 
former example, although the road is required to pay 
the freight. In case the road does pay the freight, 
which it does in a great many instances, the expense 
bill is referred to the Auditor of Freight Receipts, in 
order that he may certify that the rate paid is correct, 
and, if not correct, immediately take the matter up 
with the delivering line and obtain a refund of the 
overcharge. 

The voucher, after having been thoroughly checked 
by the distribution men, is passed to the Index Clerk, 
whose duty it is to 1 see that the payment is properly 
indexed. This is another branch of the work in the 
Disbursement Department that is handled very differ- 
ently on the various lines. Some roads index only the 
name and number of the vouchers; others index the 
name, number, and amount ; others, the name, number, 
amount, and description ; while still others run a debit 
and credit ledger account with each and every person 
from whom they receive a bill for payment. 

The use of the index is dual ; that is', it serves as a 
guide for future reference, in case reference is ever 
made to the voucher in question, and it serves the more 
important purpose of providing a check against dupli- 
cate payments'. The former use is, of course, the pri- 
mary one, and the more general ; in fact, it is the only 
use to> which some roads put their index. The latter 
use, however, is not the less important. 

The best method that suggests itself to* the writer, 
taking into consideration the economy that each suc- 
cessfully conducted department of a railway company 



308 RAILWAY ORGANIZATION AND WORKING 

must practice, is to index: (i) the number of the 
voucher; (2) the name or names; (3) the date of the 
bill; (4) the number of the bill; (5) a description, 
short and concise; and (6) the amount. This, pro- 
vided but one bill is' paid by each voucher. In case 
more than one bill is paid, the date, number, and 
amount of each should be indexed. 

Indexing in this manner will, of course, permit the 
index clerk to detect any duplicate payments that may 
get up to him without having previously been detected. 
He is, however, as it were, the court of last resort, and 
if a duplicate payment is overlooked by him, the only 
protection the company has is the honesty of the man 
who receives the payment. Therefore, the index clerk 
should be one of the brightest, quickest, clearest-head- 
ed, and clearest-eyed clerks in the office. In fact, a 
perfect index clerk should have second sight. It is, 
however, most remarkable what a degree of second 
sight a first-class index clerk will develop. I have 
several times been astounded to see what the clerks will 
pick up on the index — not errors which they are 
expected to discover, but errors which one would not 
expect them to find at all, and which it is nearly impos- 
sible to explain how they did find, except to say that 
they had a "hunch." This is equally true of the dis- 
tribution clerks mentioned previously. They become 
extremely valuable to the company, and every day's 
experience teaches them some new thing to look out 
for. 

The influence exerted by a first-class Auditor of Dis- 
bursements' office in the matter of accurate accounting 



THE AUDITOR OF EXPENDITURES 309 

by the outside or line offices is considerable. Each 
duplicate payment and each error that is discovered 
make the perpetrator of the duplication or error just so 
much more careful in the future; provided always, of 
course, that he has the interest of the company at 
heart ; and those employees who do not have the inter- 
est of the company at heart should be weeded out as 
soon as discovered. As a few weeds will soon destroy 
a fine lawn, or one rotten apple in a barrel spoil all the 
good ones, so- will a few "don't-care-for-the-interest- 
of-the-company" clerks soon sow dissension and a 
don't-care spirit in an otherwise well conducted office. 

When a voucher has been carefully audited in the 
office of the Auditor of Disbursements', it is passed 
along to the approving officer, who approves it for pay- 
ment, which is the final action of the Accounting De- 
partment, so far as the voucher is concerned, until after 
it is paid by the Treasurer. When a voucher, which 
has been sent out for payment by the Treasurer, is 
returned by the bank, it is transmitted by the Treasury 
Department to the Auditor of Disbursements, who 
checks it off against the voucher abstract and marks' the 
record "Paid," showing the date paid. It is then 
returned to the Treasurer for filing, it being his evi- 
dence that he has paid the amount shown thereon, and, 
consequently, is entitled to credit for that amount. 

Let us now briefly consider the auditing of payments 
by draft. As stated before, only such settlements should 
be made by draft as' demand immediate payment, such 
as personal-injury and live-stock claims, and some loss 
and damage claims, viz., those that can be settled more 



310 RAILWAY ORGANIZATION AND WORKING 

advantageously by immediate payment. When such 
drafts are paid by the Treasurer (and they should never 
be paid by him until they have been referred to the 
Accounting Department for approval), they are 
charged to some appropriate suspense account, and 
later cleared therefrom either by a "credit in account" 
voucher or by journal entry. The reason for this is 
apparent when it is remembered that, in a great many 
instances, there is no< information available in the gen- 
eral office, at the time the draft is' paid, as to what 
account the payment is chargeable to. The details of 
the transaction are obtained later on, and as' soon as 
obtained are used as a basis for an entry to clear the 
suspense account. It should not be understood, in this 
connection, that a separate entry is made to cover each 
such transaction. Often a blanket entry is made cov- 
ering an entire month's settlements of this nature. 

Another form of disbursement is the settlement of 
foreign-line drafts; but, as' stated before, most of these 
cover interline passenger or freight balances, and are 
taken care of by the Auditors of Receipts. Conse- 
quently, they are only mentioned here. 

In some instances, foreign lines make drafts for 
their proportion of the expenses of operating certain 
joint facilities; i. e., roads will often agree with each 
other, during the formulation of a contract, to make 
such settlements by drafts in order to facilitate pay- 
ment. These are comparatively rare, however, and 
when such a practice is' in vogue, such drafts are 
treated in the accounts of the paying company in 



THE AUDITOR OF EXPENDITURES 311 

exactly the same manner as the Claim Agent's drafts, 
above referred to. 

Another form of draft settlement is the settlement 
between railway companies of freight claims' — that is, 
overcharge or loss and damage claims — by draft. 
This is quite generally practiced between most lines at 
the present time, and is a convenient and economical 
method of settling such claims. In this case the Freight 
Claim Department issues what are known as "freight- 
claim authorities" to connections in settlement of such 
claims. The freight-claim authorities are subject to 
draft, and, when issued, are credited on the books of the 
company to an account known as "freight-claim 
authorities issued" and charged to the appropriate ex- 
pense accounts. When the draft of the creditor com- 
pany is presented for payment it is paid and charged to 
the same account, thereby clearing it. 

Let us now look into the method of handling bills. 
As was stated above, the auditing of a disbursement is 
not complete until all bills' against other companies and 
individuals in connection with such disbursements have 
been made and rendered. When any labor is performed 
or material furnished for another company or individ- 
ual, it should be charged forthwith to that company or 
individual, and should not enter into the expenses of the 
company doing the work in any way whatever. When 
the charge to the other company or individual has been 
made in the distribution book — which book will be 
more fully described later on — it should be cleared by 
rendering a bill against such individual or company 



312 RAILWAY ORGANIZATION AND WORKING 

covering the service performed, with a fair addition 
thereto for superintendence, accounting, etc. 

This bill is sent for approval through the same chan- 
nel as the voucher, previously described, and when it 
reaches the office of the Auditor of Disbursements, it is 
as thoroughly checked as is' the voucher, being checked 
against the contract, provided one has been made to 
cover. Here again the alertness and clear-headedness 
of the distribution men stand in good stead. They are 
supposed to see that the bill is made to cover every pos- 
sible item that can legitimately be included therein — 
such as freight charges', percentage for supervision and 
accounting, etc. — and that all labor bills are figured on 
the proper basis. There is a false feeling, on the part 
of some officials and employees, that a bill is' not of very 
much consequence, and that their best attention should 
be given toi the preparation of vouchers. A bill is, how- 
ever, just as important as' a voucher. The only differ- 
ence, if an error exists on each, is that in one case we 
are paying out too much money, while in the other 
case we are not including in the bill what has been 
already paid out for the account of the company against 
which the bill is being prepared. There is absolutely 
no difference so* far as the ultimate effect on the finances 
of the company is concerned. 

Bills are prepared and audited in very much the 
same manner as vouchers, receive just as much atten- 
tion from the Accounting Department, and are con- 
sidered just as important. As stated before, the 
method of handling the collection of bills after they are 
audited varies with the different roads. It is the sense 



THE AUDITOR OF EXPENDITURES 3*3 

of the writer that all such collections should be han- 
dled by the Auditor of Disbursements, owing to the 
fact that the bills are audited in his office, and all of the 
records in connection with them are kept by him. A 
great many Chief Accounting Officers, however, pre- 
fer to have this done in their own office, in order that 
they may keep in closer touch with the collections. 

In this connection we might consider the handling 
of foreign-line bills against the home company. The 
most economical and best method, from an accounting 
standpoint, is to' have every foreign-line bill, of what- 
ever nature, forwarded in the first instance to the 
Auditor of Disbursements of the home line, who will 
give it a number and take record of it in his "foreign- 
line bill record" which shows the following information 
for each bill : Auditor's number — that is, the number 
given to it by the road against which it is made; date 
received; foreign bill number — that is, the number 
given it by the road rendering it; description; 
amount; to whom forwarded for voucher; and the 
number of the voucher in payment of the same. 

This record is quite indispensable. While it is, in a 
sense, an item of expense for which there is no return, 
it is in another sense an economical measure. Even 
when railroad companies do the best they can, there is 
apt to' be some delay in vouchering foreign-line bills. 
Such foreign lines frequently become impatient at the 
delay and trace for settlement of their bills. If the 
foreign-bill record were not kept, the auditing office 
would have no record of the movement of the bill, and 
considerable correspondence would ensue, which, with 



314 RAILWAY ORGANIZATION AND WORKING 

the foreign-line record in use, could be eliminated. 
Again, it is only fair to handle foreign-line bills 
promptly, even though they do not trace for payment. 
With this record in use, the Auditor's' office can trace 
the officials of its own line for bills' which have not 
been vouchered promptly, and thereby hasten settle- 
ment. Such settlements should be hastened for more 
reasons than one. One very good reason is that some 
railway companies have a practice of holding up pay- 
ments due other lines until such other lines pay amounts 
due them. While, in some cases, this may appear to 
work a hardship, it is, in theory, only a hint to follow 
the Golden Rule : "Do unto others as you would have 
them doi unto* you ;" although it must be admitted that 
it often works out as an application of the Golden 
Rule per David Harum, viz. : "Do unto others as they 
would do unto you, but be sure and do it first/' 

The method of handling vouchers covering the pur- 
chase of material has been described, and it will be re- 
membered that the method provides that the voucher 
shall be charged, in the office of the Auditor of Dis- 
bursements', to> the official to< whom the material is 
shipped. When it has been charged to him, it stands so 
charged until he credits his account by charging it to an 
appropriate operating, construction, or other account. 

When material is shipped to an official of the 
company, he is responsible for it, and it is for him to 
see that he gets an approved order for all of such ma- 
terial as is' disbursed or used. The approved orders, 
each showing to just what use the material is to be put, 
are assembled each month on some convenient form, on 



THE AUDITOR OF EXPENDITURES 315 

which the charges to each account are segregated. At 
the end of the month these figures are recapitulated 
according to accounts, and forwarded to the office of 
the Auditor of Disbursements, where entries are made 
charging the different accounts in the books of the 
company and crediting the different officials with the 
amounts so charged. It will be seen, from an analysis 
of this method, that it is to the interest of each official 
to see that no material is used or disbursed for which he 
has not received approved orders, inasmuch as the ma- 
terial, when shipped to> him, is charged to him, and the 
only way he can get credit for it is to charge it out to 
an appropriate account; and he can make no 1 charges 
to> the accounts except from an approved order. 

At least once each year an inventory is taken of all 
available material and supplies on hand ; this inventory 
being taken by actual count, weight, or measurement. 
When the inventory of material in charge of a certain 
official is taken, the total is compared with the amount 
charged to* such official in the general books of the 
company. If his inventory falls short of the amount 
so charged to> him, it is evidence that he has been lax 
in the discharge of his duties', and that he has allowed 
considerable material to be used (or stolen) for which 
he has never received an approved authority, and for 
which, consequently, he has never been credited in the 
books of the company. This leaves the official open to 
criticism and, in some cases, reprimand, in addition to 
making large adjustments necessary in the accounts of 
the company, inasmuch as any surplus or shortage 
revealed by the inventory has' to be adjusted in order 



316 RAILWAY ORGANIZATION AND WORKING 

to bring the book balance of the material account into 
accord with the actual material on hand as shown by 
the inventory. 

Railway companies provide classifications for their 
employees to follow in making material and labor 
charges, both against "operating expenses" and against 
"construction accounts." These classifications differ 
according to the needs of the different roads, but, as a 
general proposition, all roads follow as closely as pos- 
sible the classification provided by the Interstate Com- 
merce Commission, which provides for the subdivision 
of "operating expenses" under the following four 
heads : "maintenance of way and structures," "main- 
tenance o>f equipment," "conducting transportation," 
and "general expenses." It also provides for a further 
subdivision of these four headings' — the first into* ten 
accounts, the second into' nine, the third into twenty- 
seven, and the last into seven, 

Some railway companies, owing to the vast territory 
covered by them,, feel the need of a further subdivision 
than is provided by the Interstate Commerce Commis- 
sion classification, but such further division is usually 
made so that the accounts, when necessity demands 
(which it does at least once each year), may be consoli- 
dated under the commission classification. It is pre- 
scribed by law that each and every railway company 
doing interstate business shall render returns to the 
Interstate Commerce Commission, covering the opera- 
tion of its property for the year ending June 30, these 
returns to* be made on forms prescribed by the com- 
mision. It is largely owing to this fact that the dif- 



THE AUDITOR OF EXPENDITURES 317 

ferent companies follow as closely as possible the com- 
mission's classification. 

The Accounting Departments of the different rail- 
way companies are gradually coming more into' accord 
on their classifications through the efforts and influence 
of the Association of American Railway Accounting 
Officers — an organization formed by the accounting 
officers of the various lines — which meets once a year 
to discuss ways and means of bettering present account- 
ing methods. In this way the association obtains the 
best thought of all the accounting officers of America. 

In the classification of the Interstate Commerce 
Commission are laid down definitions of every account, 
and rules and regulations governing the method of 
making charges to each. It is the duty of the employees' 
of the road to make exhaustive study of the rules and 
regulations as laid down in the classification, as in no 
other way can the distribution among the different 
accounts be made with any degree of accuracy. While, 
of course, these distributions are checked by the Ac- 
counting Department, their correctness nevertheless 
depends in a great measure on the original distribution 
made by the timekeepers, shop clerks, etc., owing to 
the fact that there is a great deal of the detail that can- 
not be checked in the Accounting Department. There 
is' only one way in which the timekeepers and distri- 
bution clerks, as well as' the officials themselves, can 
become thoroughly conversant with the rules and regu- 
lations as laid down in the classification, and that is 
by making a study of them. 



318 RAILWAY ORGANIZATION AND WORKING 

As previously stated, disbursements segregate them- 
selves into "material" and "labor" disbursements. The 
different phases of accounting for "material" disburse- 
ments' have at least been mentioned in passing. The 
"labor" disbursements cover only such expenditures as 
are paid through the medium of the pay-roll, and, conse- 
quently, but two 1 items will be treated in this' connec- 
tion, viz., the "pay-roll" and the "labor distribution." 

Claims for wages earned in the employ of the 
company are paid, through the medium of the pay-roll, 
by check — either pay-check, time-check, or unclaimed 
wage-check. These wage-checks, while being in reality 
a draft on the Treasurer of the company, are not in the 
same category as the drafts spoken of above, inasmuch 
as the expenditures covered by the wage-checks are 
audited before the payment is made, except in the case 
of time-checks, which will be more fully discussed a 
little later on. 

We will now take up the question of auditing the 
pay-roll. But first it might be well, for the benefit of 
those who have never had experience in such matters, 
to describe a pay-roll. A pay-roll is' a statement of 
amounts due employees for services performed, and 
usually shows : name ; occupation ; time worked ; rate 
per hour, mile, day, etc.; amount earned; deductions 
(if any) ; and amount due. This' information is all 
embodied in the pay-roll by the official preparing it. 
There is also space left to show the number of the 
check drawn to> pay such wages, and, in some cases, for 
the signature of the employee and a witness. How- 



THE AUDITOR OF EXPENDITURES 319 

ever, when rolls are paid by check, this, in the opinion 
of the writer, is unnecessary. 

The pay-roll is certified to very much in the same 
manner as a voucher. Pay-rolls are made up from 
time-rolls, or time-books, and these time-rolls or time- 
books are usually made up from, daily or other time- 
slips. The preparation of pay-rolls is something that 
cannot have too* much attention. When an official 
makes and certifies to a pay-roll, he is practically draw- 
ing a check on the Treasurer of his company, and he 
should be just as careful in making the one as the 
other. There is no* better motto for a young railroad 
man — or, as a matter of fact, any young man — than 
this: "Be as careful in handling the interests of your 
employer as you would be in handling your own." And 
when it comes to a question of paying out money, one 
should be even more careful, inasmuch as there are a 
great many ways in which a man may legitimately 
spend his own money, which, if applied to company 
funds, would be anything but legitimate. 

The base of most pay-rolls is the time-slip or 
other report of work performed. This is filled out by 
the employee, and is a brief description of what he has 
done during the day, showing the time he commenced 
work, the time he quit, and what work he has been 
engaged upon during the period of time covered by the 
slip — this last in order that the timekeeper may make 
the proper distribution of his time. These time-slips 
are entered daily by the timekeeper in the time-book, 
and at the end of the month the time-book is footed, 
the total hours worked extended into' money at the rate 



320 RAILWAY ORGANIZATION AND WORKING 

of pay for the different classes of labor, and, after being 
proved, the time and wages are transferred to the pay- 
roll. 

In many cases — such, for instance, as those of sec- 
tion men — the foreman of the gang keeps a time-book 
in which is entered the daily performance of each man. 
The average section man is entirely too' ignorant to be 
asked to> prepare time-slips, but the foreman, being at 
all times' with his men, is virtually a timekeeper, and 
can keep an accurate record of each man's performance 
without any daily slips. 

All of the employees in each department of each 
division are entered on one roll for convenience, and 
this roll is certified by the official in charge, and passed 
to his immediate superior for further approval and 
transmission. When it bears the approval of the high- 
est officer in the department in which it originates, it is 
sent to the office of the Auditor of Disbursements to be 
audited. In the office of the Auditor of Disbursements, 
the pay-rolls are checked just as thoroughly as it is pos- 
sible with the information at hand. All monthly rates 
are checked against the previous month's roll, and if 
any increases appear, they must be covered by a regu- 
larly approved authority. In the case of hourly rates, 
they are checked against the schedule covering such 
rates, and no deviation from the schedule is allowed 
without proper authority. 

The correctness of the number of regular monthly 
men is also ascertained by check against the previous 
month's roll — this to prevent (in a measure) straw- 
men being carried on the pay-roll. All extensions, 



THE AUDITOR OF EXPENDITURES 321 

footings, or calculations, of whatever nature, are thor- 
oughly checked, after which record is taken of the total 
amount, which is credited to the unpaid wage account 
and charged to the official making the same. It is then 
forwarded to the highest accounting officer for ap- 
proval for payment after which it goes to the Pay- 
master, in whose office the checks are usually drawn. 

It used to be a somewhat general practice to pay 
employees in cash from pay-cars, but most lines have 
given up that dangerous and expensive method for the 
much safer and cheaper one of paying by check. As 
soon as the checks can be drawn by the Paymaster, 
they are sent out to the different division points for dis- 
tribution to the employees. 

There are a great many people — in fact, a great 
many employees — who think that the railway company 
pays two or three weeks after the end of the month in 
order to get the use of the money for that period. This 
is a fallacy that is born of ignorance, and is as far from 
the facts as anything could be. Railway companies pay 
at the time they do simply because it is impossible to 
pay any sooner. Anyone holding such an idea will 
probably quickly disabuse himself of it when it is 
learned that an average trunk-line railway of from 
5,000 to 10,000 miles will draw from 25,000 to 50,000 
pay-checks per month, and in doing so pay out from 
one to two or more millions of dollars. Anyone can 
see that payments aggregating such figures, and having 
to be made in such small amounts, cannot be made in 
one day, two days, or three days, but that it takes time 
to do it and do it rightly. Again, no one should deny 



322 RAILWAY ORGANIZATION AND WORKING 

the railway company the privilege of making a thor- 
ough check of its pay-rolls before paying them. This' 
work is given preference over everything else, when it 
reaches the audit office, and the railway company should 
be praised for the facility with which it handles its 
pay-rolls, rather than censured for what seems to be 
delay, but which, as a matter of fact, is far from being 
such. 

When employees leave the service before the pay- 
rolls are made up, they are paid by time-check. The 
amount of the time-check is taken up on the pay-roll 
as a matter of record, but is taken up only in the 
"amount" and "deduction" columns, showing the time- 
check number on the roll and leaving nothing due the 
employee. The pay-checks are, of course, drawn for 
only the items appearing in the "amount due" column. 
When pay-checks or time-checks have been held for a 
certain period, say three months, and the company is' 
unable to deliver and pay them, they are, for con- 
venience in accounting, canceled and transferred to 
what is usually termed an "unclaimed wage" roll. Here 
they are carried for an indefinite period, or until paid. 
This action greatly facilitates the handling of the unpaid 
pay and time-check accounts', inasmuch as it leaves 
very little therein more than ninety days old. 

The question of labor distribution should also be 
taken up in this connection. The time-books', in which 
are entered the daily time-slips, provide space for the 
distribution of such time. Immediately after the pay- 
rolls have been compiled and forwarded, the distribu- 
tion of each employee's' time is drawn off on forms suit- 



THE AUDITOR OF EXPENDITURES 323 

able for the purpose, and recapitulated in the same man- 
ner as the material distributions — i. e., by accounts. 
This distribution is sent to the office of the Auditor of 
Disbursements and ; after being checked, is charged on 
the books of the company to the appropriate operating 
construction, or other account, and credited to the 
official preparing the roll which the distribution is made 
to> cover, to whom the pay-rcll was charged when it 
was audited. The piocess of auditing the labor distri- 
bution is so similar to< that of auditing the material 
distribution that further description is unnecessary. 

Another phase of the work in the office of the 
Auditor of Disbursements is' that handled in the Statis- 
tical Department, which is one of the most important 
divisions. It is through the statistics furnished that the 
executives' of the company judge the work of their 
subordinates. An Accounting Department of a railway 
company may be likened to the reflector of a lamp. 
Each globe of the lamp is represented by an official of 
the company. The globes' do the work; the reflector 
shows what they do. The Statistical Department of 
the Accounting Department is really the reflector; it 
brings all results together, and reduces them to a point 
where they may be made to show any information 
desired by the executives. 

The question of what statistics shall be furnished is 
one for executive decision, and on the executive's 
decision hinges entirely the size of the department. 
There is probably no other branch of accounting that 
differs more on the various roads than this. Some 
executives think that it pays to divide the expenses of 



324 RAILWAY ORGANIZATION AND WORKING 

the line, as well as the earnings, into what are known 
as "accounting divisions," while others feel that any- 
thing beyond a division between operating divisions is 
false economy. Nearly all of the trunk lines' are keep- 
ing their accounts separate by operating divisions. An 
"operating division" is that portion of the road under 
the jurisdiction of a set O'f division officials, while an 
"accounting division" is such further subdivision of an 
operating division as, in the opinion of the executive 
or the chief accounting officer, is necessary. In general 
practice, all branch lines are designated as accounting 
divisions, and, in a great many instances, the main 
line of an operating division will be split up into three 
accounting divisions — sometimes, including branch 
lines, into as many as ten. 

As before suggested, there is a question as to the 
value of figures showing the results' of the operation of 
an accounting division, owing both to< the fact that there 
is considerable expense attendant upon the compilation, 
and to the further fact that the bases used for dividing 
some of the expenses are, at best, but arbitrary. 
There is some doubt as to whether the figures arrived at 
for the accounting divisions, on the arbitrary bases 
used, are worth what it costs to compile them. It is the 
opinion of the writer that division of expenses between 
accounting divisions is impracticable, and that the re- 
sults obtained do not justify the expenses' incurred. 
However, as stated before, the question of whether 
statistics shall be kept for accounting or operating 
divisions is one that should be decided by the executive 
of the company, inasmuch as he is the only man who 



THE AUDITOR OF EXPENDITURES 325 

knows just what he wants, and it is the duty of the 
Accounting Department to give him just what he 
wants. 

Most railroads get from their Statistical Department 
what is generally known as an "operating sheet," on 
which are embodied all of the operating results. These 
results are usually shown by divisions and districts — a 
district being that portion of the line over which a gen- 
eral superintendent has jurisdiction, and comprising 
from two or three to five or six, or more, operating 
divisions. These sheets show the division of the 
operating expenses among the different accounts, as 
provided in the classification, and also certain other 
statistical information for each division and district, 
such as : number of passengers moved one mile ; number 
of tons of freight, both company and revenue, moved 
one mile; freight and passenger-train mileage; pas- 
senger-car mileage ; loaded and empty freight-car mile- 
age; caboose-car mileage; miles of road operated; etc., 
etc. These are what are known as "factors." By the 
use of these factors we are enabled to obtain units of 
cost for any given part of the expenses, or any other 
units we may desire. The units most commonly used 
in railway statistics', in ascertaining costs, are the train- 
mile, the ton-mile, and the passenger-mile. 

To get the unit of cost per freight-train mile, for in- 
stance, we first have to* divide the operating expenses 
between passenger and freight. This is done on an 
actual basis, so far as possible ; where it is impossible to 
ascertain the actual passenger or freight cost, it is ob- 
tained on some arbitrary basis', the one most generally 



326 RAILWAY ORGANIZATION AND WORKING 

in use being the passenger- and freight-train mile basis. 
After the expense incident to freight has been ascer- 
tained, and it is desired to arrive at the unit of cost, say, 
per freight-train mile, the expense so arrived at is' di- 
vided by the number of freight-train miles, the quotient 
being the unit of cost per freight-train mile. 

The expenses' may be divided into as many subdi- 
visions as are thought necessary before figuring the 
units. For instance, in "conducting transportation" 
expense it is usually considered practicable to figure 
units of cost per train-, ton-, or passenger-mile for sta- 
tion service, yard service, engine service, train service, 
and other conducting transportation expenses. On the 
operating sheet are usually shown three months' figures 
— i. e., this month, last month, and the same month last 
year — in order to show the comparisons. 

Some of the units that are usually figured, aside 
from the units of cost, are : tons per train, tons per car, 
number of loaded freight-cars per train, number of 
empty freight-cars per train, freight-train miles' per 
mile of road, tons one mile per mile of road, passengers 
per train, passengers per car, passenger-train miles per 
mile of road, passengers one mile per mile of road, etc. 
There, can of course, be shown, on this so-called operat- 
ing sheet, any units that may be thought of value. 
Probably no two* roads figure exactly the same units' 
of cost ; however, all roads, rendering a regular monthly 
operating sheet, will figure most of the units cited. 
These units of cost will come nearer reflecting just 
what a division official is doing than any other figures, 
and are a great aid to the chief operating officials as 



THE AUDITOR OF EXPENDITURES 327 

well as to the executives. It should be remembered 
that all of these units are figured for each division. 

If, on a certain division, the unit of cost per freight- 
train mile for train service this month is 35.3 cents, 
and last month was 2> 2 -7 cents, the division superin- 
tendent in charge of that division is quite likely to be 
called upon for an explanation of the increased cost of 
2.6 cents per train-mile. If this explanation is hard to 
give, it stands' to reason that the division official inter- 
ested will do all he can to reduce the expenses in the 
subsequent months. It will be seen from this example 
that units' of cost are an excellent measure of an 
official's ability. 

To make these units of cost of any value, however, 
it is absolutely essential that a full month's expenses, 
no more and no less, be included in each month's 
figures. In order to do this, it is often necessary for 
the division officials to take up certain items of expense 
in their monthly returns on an estimated basis. This 
point can be more clearly explained by an example: 
Let A represent the road preparing the operating sheet. 
On a certain division of this road it is obliged, for some 
good reason, to use permanently the track of another 
company, B, for a distance of twenty miles, paying 
for the use thereof one-half of the cost of maintaining 
and operating it, aside from the cost of running its 
trains ; such joint expense to be borne by A aggregat- 
ing $10,000 per month. There will be times when, in all 
probability, it will be impossible for B to render its bill, 
covering the operation and maintenance of this joint 
line, promptly, and there may be two or three months 



328 RAILWAY ORGANIZATION AND WORKING 

at a time when it will be found impossible to render 
such bills. Now, if A (the line making the operating 
sheet) should take B's bills into account just as they 
are rendered, it will be seen that the units of cost for 
the division of A on which the joint track is operated 
would be valueless; in fact, they would be worse than 
valueless in that they would be misleading. In one 
month they would have no expenses for the joint line, 
while in the next month they might have two> or more 
months' expenses. 

In order to obviate this difficulty and to make the 
units of cost of some value, the only method suggesting 
itself is to take such items into the operating expenses 
on an estimated basis, provided the foreign-line bill is 
not received in time to take it in on an actual basis. A 
great many roads do not follow this practice, but it is 
indispensable to a road that prepares statistics showing 
units of cost ; and it is certainly good accounting. 

This department's duties also include the tabulation 
of joint facility bills and different associations' bills, 
such as car service, passenger assocations, rate bureaus, 
etc. These bills are tabulated in detail. This is done 
to make sure that no additional expense is included 
without adequate authority, and also for the detection 
of other errors. It is a great help to an Auditing De- 
partment, and is practically the only way to obtain a 
complete check on such bills. 

Another of its duties is to make comparisons of units 
of cost between different joint facilities. For instance, 
if on one division we use jointly with another company 
a few miles of its track, and on another division we 



THE AUDITOR OF EXPENDITURES 329 

use jointly with another company a few miles of its 
track, there are certain items that we pay each line, 
although the prices charged by each may be vastly dif- 
ferent. Take, for example, the cost of icing passenger- 
cars. One company may be charging us, on an average, 
10 cents per car for icing, and the other company, 20 
cents per car. The two facilities being on different 
divisions, the division officials would not be in a posi- 
tion to know of the vast difference in cost, and it is quite 
safe to assume that the heads of the operating depart- 
ments' at headquarters will not notice it; therefore, the 
only place to discover such discrepancies is in the Ac- 
counting Department, and the only method that sug- 
gests itself is that of tabulating the different items of 
cost. The saving to< be effected through this may look 
small to one not in a position to know, but it should not 
be forgotten that such a saving, when once effected, 
is a saving for the entire period during which the prop- 
erty is' operated jointly. Taking this into considera- 
tion, it will be seen that the saving is no small one, 
especially when it is' known that some leases run for 
999 years. 

Still another duty of the Statistical Department is 
the preparation of the locomotive and car performance 
sheet. This shows in detail the results of operation of 
each locomotive : how many miles it made, how many 
tons of coal, cords of wood, or pints of oil it used, and 
the different units per engine-mile; that is, how many 
miles were run to the ton of coal, pint of oil, etc., used. 
Similar information is sometimes worked up for indi- 



33° RAILWAY ORGANIZATION AND WORKING 

vidual engineers, and it is a most excellent measure of 
their ability. 

The foregoing are only a few of the more important 
duties of the Statistical Department. There are many 
others, which limitations of time forbid me to mention. 
A Statistical Department must at all times hold itself 
in readiness to furnish any statistical information de- 
sired by the various officials. 

An important factor in the auditing of the disburse- 
ments' of a railway company is the work of the Travel- 
ing Accountants. While an attempt is made in the gen- 
eral offices to check, as far as possible, all details of 
the accounting, the correctness of the distribution 
d spends in a great measure on the original distribution 
made by the timekeeper, shop clerks, or other division 
accountants. In many cases, the only way in which it 
is possible to check certain distributions' thoroughly is 
to be on the ground and in touch with local conditions. 
No man can be in two places at once; i. e., he cannot 
be in the general office checking accounts and also 
on the road looking into local conditions' at different 
points. Hence the necessity for Traveling Account- 
ants, 

While the Auditor of Disbursements can outline 
definitions of accounts' and methods to be pursued in the 
accounting for different propositions on the road, the 
only way in which he can know that his instructions are 
being fully carried out is through the use of Traveling 
Accountants, who, being on the road all the time, can 
keep him advised as to every particular. The Traveling 
Accountants should thus enjoy the entire confidence of 



THE AUDITOR OF EXPENDITURES 331 

the Auditor of Disbursements, and should at all times 
be very closely in touch with him. 

The number and duties' of Traveling Accountants on 
different railroads vary with the system of accounting 
in vogue. For instance, on a road where the system 
calls for the transmission to the general office of all of 
the details of the accounts, regardless' of their character 
— whether material or labor — the need for Traveling 
Accountants is much less than on a road the system of 
which does not demand the forwarding to the general 
office of the entire mass of detail which accumulates 
each month in the accounting for all disbursements. 
Regardless of the system in vogue, however, there is 
always need for one or more Traveling Accountants 
on any road. 

One of the duties of the Traveling Accountant, and 
perhaps the most important one, is the checking of 
time. There are certain details of timekeeping which 
it is impracticable, and often impossible, to check in the 
general office, regardless of what system is employed, 
and the only way in which a check on these details may 
be had is to have a Traveling Accountant on the road 
for that purpose. For instance, take the checking of 
engine-men's and train-men's time. The sole way in 
which this can be done correctly is to check it against 
the train sheets covering the movement of the men in 
question, and to check it against the time-table or other 
approved mileage table, in order to see that the dis- 
tances allowed are proper. In my opinion, this can 
best be done through Traveling Accountants. The 
Traveling Accountants on the line of the road checking 



332 RAILWAY ORGANIZATION AND WORKING 

time can, as a rule, save a great deal more for the 
company than their salaries and expenses. This' may 
seem unreasonable, but when it is remembered that the 
disbursements of the average trunk-line, through pay- 
rolls alone, average from ten to twenty million dollars 
a year, it will be seen that this saving is a very small 
percentage of the total pay-roll. 

It is absolutely essential to have somebody on the 
road checking this time, inasmuch as employees, while 
prone to. criticise the company and the timekeepers in 
case their time has been under-allowed, are very slow 
to> report any over-payment. I do> not say this in order 
to convey the impression that the employees, as a whole, 
are dishonest ; but some employees, who are not scrupu- 
lously honest, if overpaid two 1 or three dollars, will say 
nothing about it, thinking that the railroad company 
had not paid them as much as it should at some other 
time. While this excuse may ease their pangs of con- 
science, two> wrongs do not make a right, and every 
such dishonest action is a nail in the coffin in which 
the guilty person's' career will finally be buried. 

The Traveling Accountants are also able to suggest 
many economies on the line. For instance, take shop 
economies. On one of the lines with which I have been 
connected it was the practice, in paying the men on 
pay-day, to blow a shop whistle at a certain hour, and 
have all the employees quit work and go* to' a centrally 
located point to receive their wage-checks. Through 
the suggestion of a Traveling Accountant, this prac- 
tice was changed, and the timekeeper delivered the pay- 
checks to the employees separately in each department. 



THE AUDITOR OF EXPENDITURES 333 

This one suggestion undoubtedly was the means of sav- 
ing the company at least $1,000 per month on its pay- 
roll; that is, the company would derive $1,000 more of 
labor performed from its employees, with the same 
amount of money expended, as' under the other scheme, 
inasmuch as it would not, under the last-named scheme, 
waste fifteen minutes or a half-hour of the time of each 
employee in paying him. This is not the only case I 
could mention in which different economies have been 
suggested by the Traveling Accountants, with the same 
effect. I should like to* add that there is no other 
method in which these things can be discovered by the 
Accounting Department, and corrected. 

The Traveling Accountant is' one of the most impor- 
tant personages' in the Disbursements Department, and 
in consequence he should be a man fully versed in all 
of the workings of this' department. Among his other 
duties is the teaching of the classification to the em- 
ployees — that is, the timekeepers, shop clerks, and other 
distribution men along the line. He is, as it were, an 
interpreter of the classification; and while we try at 
headquarters' to make the classification as clear as possi- 
ble, there are always certain employees who do not 
interpret it as they should. 

Another field in which the Traveling Accountants are 
very valuable is the following: As you all know, in 
this day of labor unions, the different classes of labor 
are paid according to certain schedules, and these 
schedules are some times quite complicated, this' being 
especially true in the case of engineers and firemen. 
It is not to be wondered at that some of the timekeepers, 



334 RAILWAY ORGANIZATION AND WORKING 

who are, at the best, not overpaid, stumble and fall in 
the interpretation of these schedules. However, it is 
impressed upon the Traveling Accountants that they 
must see that the schedule is being properly interpreted 
at each point they visit ; and in this way great good is 
accomplished. 

It has been my endeavor, in the foregoing, to* give a 
general outline of the working of the office of the Au- 
ditor of Disbursements, lack of time compelling the 
omission of many details of interest to> the specialist, 
though likely enough dry reading for the average 
layman. 



THE WORK OF THE FREIGHT AUDITOR 

W. F. DUDLEY, ASSISTANT GENERAL AUDITOR, CHICAGO, 
MILWAUKEE & ST. PAUL RAILWAY 

What the arteries and veins are to the life, health, 
comfort, and development of the human body, the 
means of transportation are to* the development and 
prosperity, the intellectual, social, and material welfare, 
of the people of this country, and therefore to the power 
and influence of our government. By reason of trans- 
portation facilities the people of each section enjoy 
what they need of the surplus products of nearly every 
other section — whether it be the product of the soil, of 
the factory, or of the press. 

The Chicago^ business man, resident of another state 
— and there are many such — awakened by the rays of 
the morning sun shining into his room through win- 
dow-glass made in Pennsylvania, raises his head from 
the pillow made in North Carolina, and consults 
the clock made in Massachusetts, In leaving the 
bed made in Michigan, he steps upon the rug made in 
New York — or perhaps upon the tack made in Pitts- 
burg. He doffs his night garment made at home, but 
from cloth made in New England from cotton produced 
in Mississippi ; he dons his business suit made in Illinois 
from cloth made in Ohio from wool produced in Wy- 
oming, and, entering the breakfast room on a floor made 
from boards produced in Georgia, is seated at a table 
made in Missouri., covered by linen made in Connecti- 

335 



S3 6 RAILWAY ORGANIZATION AND WORKING 

cut. As he partakes of the fresh, ripe oranges produced 
in California or Florida, or of the prime fresh meats 
dressed, perhaps, in Nebraska from cattle produced in 
Texas and afterward fattened in Montana, or of the 
cakes from flour made in Minnesota from wheat pro- 
duced in Dakota,, with alleged maple syrup said to> have 
been produced in Vermont, he reads the Chicago morn- 
ing papers, as fresh from the press as though just 
printed in his own town. 

Two hours later he sits at his desk in Chicago, perus- 
ing orders transported to him in the morning mail for 
merchandise from his store, or factory, or warehouse. 
This mail may have been carried to> him from the At- 
lantic coast or from the Pacific coast, from the northern 
or the southern boundaries of the country, or from be- 
yond the confines of the United States — in fact, from 
any place favored with good transportation facilities; 
and to such places, whether they be miles, hundreds of 
miles, or thousands of miles away, he can forward the 
desired merchandise called for. These places in turn 
satisfy his needs, and the needs of his community, by 
shipping back other goods' not produced in his locality, 
but of which they have a superabundance. 

Good transportation facilities have rendered it pos- 
sible to produce and distribute papers and books — the 
embodiment of thought and learning — at a cost which 
renders them accessible to everyone. Congresses and 
conventions, where able minds can meet to discuss im- 
portant matters of common interest — whether in the 
field of art or of science, of religion or of government — 
to give and take, if necessary, hard knocks in the inter- 



THE FREIGHT AUDITOR 337 

est of truth and progress, are made possible by trans- 
portation facilities. How can a man better serve his 
country or his fellow-men than by devoting his time 
and thought and energies to the interests of this great, 
but not half-appreciated, matter of transportation — by 
actively engaging with others in the good work of dis- 
tributing the good things of this earth, so that, instead 
of being wasted, they may be utilized and enjoyed? 

With us there are steamboats and sailboats, trollies 
and cables, stages and drays — all useful and helpful in 
a great many ways. But the great transportation utili- 
ty, in comparison with which every other and all others 
fade into insignificance, and which has done more than 
almost any other agency for the development of our 
country, and for the material welfare, comfort, and 
enlightenment of its people, is the American railway, 
constructed and operated by the great railway com- 
panies, and the great and glorious army of American 
railway employees, with which no man need feel 
ashamed to be identified. 

The variety, extent, and intricacy of important mat- 
ters, requiring intelligent, punctual, and continuous 
attention, that are involved in conducting the affairs of 
a railway company, like the bewildering but beautiful 
variety of form, color, and detail in vegetable life round 
about us, are almost incomprehensible, and can be given 
such attention only by a division and specialization of 
the work. Good results from the railway companies — 
which, like the refreshing rains of summer, some, but 
not all, of the people are too apt to accept as a matter 
of course and without proper appreciation — do not, like 



33 8 RAILWAY ORGANIZATION AND WORKING 

summer showers, come without human thought or ef- 
fort, but are the direct result and manifestation o<f such 
intelligent, punctual, and continuous attention and 
action — planned, systematized, and provided for by the 
central figure of the system, to whom all report, directly 
or indirectly, and by his representatives, each in his' own 
proper sphere and in proper relation with every other, 
all working in perfect harmony and with perfect dis- 
cipline — from the President, the General Manager, the 
General Superintendent, the General Auditor, the 
Comptroller, the Treasurer, the Tax Commissioner, 
the General Freight Agent, the General Passenger 
Agent, the General Baggage Agent, the Claim Agent, 
the Fuel Agent, the Stationery Supply Agent, the Chief 
Engineer, the Superintendent O'f Transportation, the 
Superintendent of Motive Power, the General Road 
Master, the Master Car Builder, the Purchasing Agent, 
the Superintendent of Bridges and Buildings, the Gen- 
eral Storekeeper, the Superintendent of Telegraph, 
the Train Dispatcher, and the heads of other depart- 
ments and departmental bureaus or divisions, down to 
the man whose only subordinates are his own two 
strong and willing hands. 

Upon this occasion we are to> consider in a general 
way one of the branches of the Auditing or Account- 
ing Department — the work of the Freight Auditor, or 
Auditor of Freight Accounts. Much of the work of the 
Freight Auditor is based upon, and is a verification (or 
correction) and continuation of, the work done or 
started by that man of many superiors, the station 
agent. In discussing the duties of the Freight Auditor, 



THE FREIGHT AUDITOR 339 

we must start at the billing station. A consignor, hav- 
ing delivered freight for shipment to the railway 
company, together with a shipping-bill in due form, 
properly describing the freight, and showing to whom 
it is' consigned and at what destination, is given in ex- 
change a bill of lading, or freight receipt, by the station 
agent. The agent thereupon makes a waybill showing, 
in accordance with the shipping-bill, the consignor, the 
consignee and destination, a description of the freight 
or list of articles, the weight, rate, freight charges, ad- 
vances, and prepaid. The waybill is dated, bears a 
designating number, and shows the initials and num- 
ber of the car in which the freight is to be transported. 
If the shipment is to< be stopped en route to be weighed, 
to' be re-iced, or for any other purpose, the fact is noted 
on the waybill. 

The waybill, to the Freight Auditor, is a document 
of first importance. It should accompany the freight 
from the point of origin to> the billing destination, and 
should then be sent by the receiving agent to the Freight 
Auditor — a correct and complete statement of the 
service rendered and of the incidents connected there- 
with. It should bear the notations of each conductor 
moving the freight, showing his name, the number of 
his train, and the date of each movement. If the 
freight is weighed on track scales at the point of origin, 
en route or at the destination, the waybill must show 
where and by whom weighed, and the gross, tare, and 
net weight. If the freight has been transferred en 
route to another car, the waybill must bear a notation 
accordingly. If the freight is found at the destination 



340 RAILWAY ORGANIZATION AND WORKING 

to be damaged or short or over, the fact should be noted 
on the waybill. Any question which may arise with 
reference to a shipment should, so far as possible, be 
anticipated by the agents, weighmasters, inspectors, 
and conductors handling the freight, and answered in 
advance by notation on the waybill before this is sent 
to the Freight Auditor. 

In certain cases, under special conditions and limita- 
tions, for the purpose of avoiding delay freight may, by 
special authority, be moved on "slip-bills" or "card 
bills," the regular waybills being sent by train or 
United States mail to the agent at the destination ; the 
slip-bill being attached to the regular waybill by the 
agent at the destination, and returned with it to the 
Freight Auditor. The movement of freight on a 
"memorandum waybill," or without a waybill, is re- 
garded by Freight Auditors generally almost in the 
light of a crime; and to> move freight without a way- 
bill, or to suppress from the records and reports a way- 
bill on which freight has been moved, is, in the eyes of 
the Freight Auditor, about the limit of depravity. If 
freight is underbilled as to weight, commodity, or class, 
and is reported, there still remains a chance for detec- 
tion and correction of the error. But what would be 
the possibility of fraud and uncertainty were it not for 
the rigid enforcement of the rules under which for- 
warding agents are required to waybill all freight — 
every shipment — and conductors are forbidden to take 
any freight from a billing station without a waybill, 
and which require that all waybills on which freight 
is moved, either with or without charges, shall be duly 



THE FREIGHT AUDITOR 341 

recorded, reported, and returned to the Freight Auditor 
for scrutiny and correction — at the expense of the party 
at fault, in case any error is found to have been made ! 

All waybills received, local and interline, must be 
returned (on most roads' daily) by the receiving agents 
to the Freight Auditor. Interline waybills forwarded 
of course go with the freight through to the billing 
destination on a foreign line, and finally rest with the 
Freight Auditor of such foreign line ; therefore the for- 
warding agent making the interline waybill sends an 
impression or carbon copy thereof to his Freight Au- 
ditor, and (usually) to the Freight Auditor of any in- 
termediate line over which the freight is to' pass en 
route to its billing destination. 

The agent at each station renders to his Freight 
Auditor monthly (or as his instructions may require) 
reports of freight forwarded and received at his station ; 
also, separate reports of freight forwarded and received 
at any "prepaid station" 1 over which he has supervision. 
The agent's "freight forwarded report" includes all 
waybills made by him during the month, and groups 
the business to each billing destination, showing the 
waybill number and date, the weight, freight charges, 
advances, and prepaid on each waybill; these items 
being footed in the report to show the total of weight, 
freight charges, advances, and prepaid, by stations. 
These totals in turn are carried to a recapitulation sheet, 
and made a part of the report showing the names of the 

1 A " prepaid station " is one at which no station agency is main- 
tained, and to which, therefore, only prepaid shipments can be way- 
billed. 



342 RAILWAY ORGANIZATION AND WORKING 

stations to which the freight has been waybilled during 
the month, and the total of weight, freight charges, ad- 
vances, and prepaid on the billing to each station ; these 
items being footed to show the grand total to all stations 
during the month. The "freight received report" is 
made in the same way — to show, grouped by billing 
stations, the date and number of each waybill, with the 
weight, freight charges, advances, and prepaid on each 
waybill received; the total received from each billing 
station; and, in the recapitulation, the grand total of 
weight, freight charges, advances, and prepaid on all 
waybills received from all stations during the month. 
In addition to this, the Freight Auditor will require 
from the agent at each junction station where freight 
is interchanged on interline billing, "junction reports," 
forwarded and received, of such freight as passes 
across from one foreign road to another foreign road, 
on which his line is intermediate. There are other re- 
ports and statements required by the Freight Auditor, 
mostly ficm station agents, some of which will be 
mentioned later. 

While, as has been intimated, the Freight Auditor 
is a specialist, his duties being confined to one of the 
many branches of one of the numerous' departments of 
the railroad, the work of his office is sometimes still 
further subdivided and specialized ; as, for example : 
Division i, revising waybills; Division 2, checking and 
balancing freight reports; Division 3, interline freight 
settlements ; Division 4, apportionment of earnings by 
states and divisions; Division 5, statistics — the number 
of tons of freight moved one mile, the rate per ton per 



THE FREIGHT AUDITOR 343 

mile earned for such movement, tonnage of the several 
commodities transported, the compilation of regular and 
special statements as called for from time to time; Di- 
vision 6, checking of claims; Division 7, milling and 
cleaning in transit accounts, etc. Each of these divi- 
sions, under the supervision of a chief, is again subdi- 
vided, so that, instead of all clerks tackling haphazardly 
all of the work, each clerk understands just what is' 
required of him. He thus has an opportunity to merit 
and receive commendation of his efforts in successfully 
accomplishing his' own task, and to earn promotion by 
demonstrating his ability and readiness to do> more than 
that; or to merit and receive less gratifying attention by 
a failure to keep abreast with his work. 

It is sometimes necessary for the billing agent to 
make waybills hurriedly. The freight may be brought 
by a consignor, or be transferred from a connecting 
line to 1 the forwarding station, only a short time before 
the departure of the train on which it is desired to 
make shipment; or the weight of the freight must be 
ascertained or verified after the shipment leaves the for- 
warding station. For this and other reasons, the receiv- 
ing agent, rather than the forwarding agent, generally 
is held responsible for the correctness of freight 
charges (but not for the correctness of billed advances, 
or prepaid) shown in the waybill as returned to the 
Freight Auditor. 

It is' the duty of the receiving agent, before making 
delivery, and thereby losing lien on the freight, care- 
fully to revise the waybill, and correct any error in com- 
modity, classification, rate, extension, or footing of 



344 RAILWAY ORGANIZATION AND WORKING 

freight charges; and to communicate, if necessary, by 
mail or telegraph with the General Freight Department 
as to the rate applicable. To the amount of freight 
charges so determined he must add the amount shown 
by the billing agent on the waybill as advances (being 
perhaps the amount paid by the billing agent to* the 
agent of the connecting line for transportation of the 
freight to< the retailing station) ; and from the amount 
of freight charges and advances he must deduct the 
amount shown by the billing agent on the waybill as 
prepaid, this being an amount collected at the point of 
origin from the shipper to cover or apply on the cost of 
transporting the shipment to> its final destination. The 
waybill may disclose by notation some further charge 
against the shipment — e. g., for transferring freight 
to another car on account of overloading, for recooper- 
age, for restaking, for feeding in transit, for re-icing, 
etc. All charges against the shipment in excess of the 
amount shown on the waybill as having been prepaid 
must be collected by the receiving agent upon delivery 
of the freight. In case the amount prepaid exceeds the 
accumulated charges against the shipment, such ex- 
cess, if there is any chance for question as to the con- 
signee being entitled to receive it, will, in the absence of 
any special instruction, be added to the freight charges 
— thrown into' freight earnings, subject to' claim. 

The receiving agent each day sends to the Freight 
Auditor such waybills as have been revised, corrected 
and recorded. Such waybills are, as soon as possible 
thereafter, scrutinized by the Freight Auditor, checked 
against the classifications and tariffs, and revised as to 



THE FREIGHT AUDITOR 345 

weight, rate, extensions, and footings; and notice is 
sent to< the receiving agent of any errors so> discovered. 
The Freight Auditor's correction notices' are numbered 
and recorded. If the correction notice proposes a re- 
duction in the charges, and the agent accordingly 
accounts for less than was shown in the waybill as 
returned by him, the record can be satisfied only by 
a satisfactory showing that only the corrected amount 
has been collected, or that proper disposition has been 
made of the excess. If the notice shows the freight 
to have been undercharged, the record can be satisfied 
only by an accounting for the waybill in the current 
month's "received report" at corrected figures, or 
for the amount of undercharge in a subsequent month's 
account under the head of "miscellaneous collections," 
"storage, switching, etc.," or some such heading 
which may be provided. On inter-line waybilling 
the receiving railway company by which freight is 
delivered to< the consignee at the destination is held 
responsible, like the receiving agent on local bill- 
ing, for the correctness of the freight charges it so 
collects; and it is to* insure against loss of revenue re- 
sulting from possible failure on the part of a receiving 
road properly to revise interline waybills received by it, 
that the impression or carbon copy of such interline 
billing is required by the Freight Auditor from the for- 
warding agent for the purpose of revision and check 
against returns' from the receiving railway company. 

The waybills, as revision is completed, are ready to 
be passed on from what we have here designated as 
"Division i — revising waybills," for use by "Division 



346 RAILWAY ORGANIZATION AND WORKING 

2 — checking and balancing freight reports," and "Di- 
vision 3 — interline freight settlements." After those 
divisions are through with them they are passed on 
for file and custody to "Division 6 — checking claims," 
where they are systematically filed, ready for quick ref- 
erence, by months, alphabetically by receiving stations, 
or otherwise. 

What a vehicle is the modern freight-car! Load 
into- it the entire furnishings of an ordinary dwelling- 
house, and it still calls for more. Its capacity, to the 
uninitiated, is astonishing. The average citizen, halted 
at the crossing by a passing freight train, sees car after 
car, and car after car, pass before his tired eyes, until 
at last, before the caboose appears to relieve the tension, 
his patience is almost exhausted. Some of these cars, 
he can but notice, are loaded with coal; others with 
farm machinery, poles, structural iron, building-stone, 
etc. ; others, with contents concealed by closed doors — 
in almost endless procession. He regards this gigantic 
aggregation of rolling-stock, and valuable merchandise 
in great variety, as a unit — simply as a noisy, dusty, 
rather disagreeable nuisance o>f a freight train; and if 
by chance it should momentarily halt before the caboose 
has fully cleared the street, thus further impeding his 
progress for a minute or two, he is liable to entertain a 
senseless feeling of resentment, and too often foolishly 
to> condole with himself as being one of the many vic- 
tims of a great corporation. He knows, but does not 
stop to consider, that each individual one of the 
thousands of useful articles being moved as freight in 
that train has been ordered and is needed, expected, and 



THE FREIGHT AUDITOR 347 

waited for by someone like himself. But this train is' 
only one of hundreds of trains simultaneously running 
in all directions, perhaps in seven or eight states, over 
the railway company's thousands of miles of track. Try 
to imagine for a moment the number of hundreds of 
thousands of consignments of freight — the number of 
needed articles so- ordered, expected, and waited for. 
which at this instant are being transported in all of the 
trains of the great railway company! While they are 
not quite as the sands of the sea, or the stars of the 
firmament, they are very suggestive of them. 

Nevertheless, the records of the Freight Auditor 
must be and are complete as to each and every one of 
these articles. Raise a question with him, giving way- 
bill reference, as to any individual consignment — a c? r- 
load of grain, or a small box of soap, or anything else, 
shipped anywhere in any of these trains on his line at 
any time during the past six or eight years — and he 
will, without hesitation, while you wait, locate and 
show you his record of this particular item about which 
the question is' raised. His files of freight reports and 
waybills cover each and every shipment. 

In what we here refer to as Division 2 the "freight 
forwarded" and "freight received" reports are checked 
against each other, and all errors in them are corrected. 
After all items have been harmonized (most of the 
errors for correction as to weight and freight charges 
occur in the "forwarded" reports), the reports are re- 
footed, and the corrected totals are entered on sheets 
provided for that purpose. These sheets, which for 
the purpose of description we will designate as "divi- 



348 RAILWAY ORGANIZATION AND WORKING 

sion balances," have printed, perhaps down the center, 
the names of all stations on the division, with appro- 
priately headed columns in which to enter on one side 
the weight, the freight charges, the advances, and the 
prepaid on freight received at each station on the divi- 
sion, and on the opposite side the corresponding infor- 
mation for freight forwarded from each station on the 
division; also* the amount for charge against each 
station on account of miscellaneous collections — for 
storage, switching, car service, supplemental under- 
charge collections called for in the undercharge correc- 
tion notices issued by freight auditor's waybill revisers, 
etc. These division balances thus congregate from the 
several reports the items of debit and credit to each 
station agent, and when completed and balanced, the 
debit and credit items so 1 shown are reported by the 
Freight Auditor to' the General Auditor for entry on 
the "stations" ledger. 

The "freight received" report will, of course, include 
some waybills dated the previous month, covering 
shipments which started from the forwarding station 
during that month, and which were therefore included 
in its "forwarded" report ; obviously, such bills do not 
appear in the "forwarded" report of the current month. 
The "forwarded" report of the current month, especial- 
ly in the case of long hauls, will, of course, include way- 
bills for some shipments which will not reach their des- 
tination until some time during the succeeding month, 
and which are therefore not included in the current 
month's "received" report. All of these waybills which 
lap over in the account from one month to another are 



THE FREIGHT AUDITOR 349 

listed by the Freight Auditor in detail on so-called 
"transit sheets." The "transit" at the close of the 
previous month is used practically as a supplement to 
the current month's "forwarded" report, and the "tran- 
sit" of the current month (that is;, the itemized list 
of waybills in transit at the close of current month) 
will next month be used practically as a supplement to 
next month's "freight forwarded" report. In making 
the "division balances" for the purpose of verifying the 
month's check of freight reports, etc., the footing of 
the previous month's "transit" is entered on the "for- 
warded" side, and the footing of the current month's 
"transit" on the "received" side of the division balance 
sheet ; that is, the balance is effected on the theory that 
the total amount of freight charges, advances, and pre- 
paid (each of these three classes of charges is entered 
and balanced separately) on freight forwarded during 
the current month, plus the amount on waybills in tran- 
sit at the close of the previous month, equals the total 
amount of freight charges, advances, and prepaid on 
freight received at destination during the current 
month, plus the amount on waybills in transit at the 
close of the current month. In other words, the total 
received, and the total not received, equal the total 
forwarded, and the figures are grouped accordingly. 

One of the advantages of this transit sheet is its ex- 
position of waybills not accounted for by the agent at 
the destination. Any unusual or apparently unneces- 
sary delay on the part of the agent at the billing desti- 
nation in accounting for a waybill arouses the inquisi- 
tiveness or suspicion of the Freight Auditor, who at 



35o RAILWAY ORGANIZATION AND WORKING 

once applies toi the car accountant (in the case of car- 
load shipments) for information, obtainable from con- 
ductors' reports to the latter, as to* the movement of 
the car. Such investigation may disclose that the car 
containing the shipment was promptly hauled through 
to and received at its destination ; that the waybill and 
shipment were received in time to have been included in 
the "received" report from which the waybill was 
omitted — that the load was discharged and the car sent 
away empty from the destination station, or loaded with 
other freight, before the time for closing the "received" 
report. This" suggests the possibility of something 
wrong, and further investigation may show that the 
agent has delivered the freight, collected the charges, 
and for some improper reason withheld or suppressed 
the waybill. The early detection and speedy straighten- 
ing out of any such irregularity as this may save dis- 
charge and disgrace to someone in the agent's office, 
and perhaps loss to the agent or his bondsmen. 

The items of debit and credit find their way, in 
regular course, to' the division balances above referred 
to, and from there to the General Auditor's "stations" 
ledger. For example: A man in Cleveland, Ohio, 
wishes toi send a box of merchandise to his son in 
Denver, Colo. He does not wish to* have his son called 
upon to' pay any charges on the box. For transporta- 
tion of the box, at the weight stated, each of the three 
roads over which it is to pass is entitled to, say, $2, 
making a total of $6. This $6 the man pays to the 
Lake Shore & Michigan Southern agent at Cleveland. 
The Cleveland agent of that railway forwards the box 



THE FREIGHT AUDITOR 351 

on a Cleveland-to-Chicago waybill, entering in the way- 
bill $2 as freight charges, and $6 as prepaid. The 
Chicago agent of the Lake Shore & Michigan Southern 
turns the box over to* the Chicago agent of one of the 
lines running between Chicago; and the Missouri River 
— say, the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul. With the 
box he sends a transfer slip, or transfer bill, giving all 
necessary information about the box — who shipped it, 
where it is to go<, whom it is for, etc., and showing the 
charges as $2 freight, $6 prepaid. There is, of course, 
nothing to be collected by the Chicago^ agent of the 
Lake Shore & Michigan Southern ; but, on the contrary, 
that company has collected its own charge from the 
shipper, and $4 additional which is intended to be ap- 
plied on the billing west of Chicago. The $4 is accord- 
ingly paid by the Lake Shore & Michigan Southern 
agent to the Chicago agent of the Chicago, Milwaukee 
& St. Paul in junction settlement. The Chicago, Mil- 
waukee & St. Paul agent then forwards the box, in ac- 
cordance with the transfer slip, on a Chicagc-to- 
Ccuncil Bluffs waybill, showing $2 as freight charges 
(Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul earnings) $2 advances 
(the amount retained by the Lake Shore & Michigan 
Southern from the amount paid by the shipper), and 
$6 as prepaid. The Council Bluffs agent of the Chi- 
cago, Milwaukee & St. Paul turns the box over to the 
Council Bluffs agent of the Union Pacific Railway 
Company, accompanied by a transfer bill giving in- 
formation as shown in the Chicago waybill, and show- 
ing the charges as $2 freight, $2 advances, and $6 pre- 
paid. No collection is to be made by the Chicago, Mil- 



35 2 RAILWAY ORGANIZATION AND WORKING 

waukee & St. Paul agent from the Union Pacific agent, 
but, on the contrary, he must pay the latter the $6 which 
was paid by the shipper at the point of origin less $4 
— the amount of the Lake Shore & Michigan Southern 
and Chicago,. Milwaukee & St. Paul charges. Pay- 
ment to the Union Pacific agent is made, accordingly, in 
junction settlement. The Council Bluffs agent of the 
Union Pacific then forwards the box, in accordance 
with the transfer bill, on a Council Bluffs-to-Denver 
waybill, entering in the waybill $2 freight charges 
(Union Pacific earnings), $4 advances: (charges ac- 
cumulated to the Missouri River), and $6 prepaid (the 
total amount paid by the shipper). The Denver agent 
makes delivery of the box, collecting no charges, and 
takes the son's receipt for it; and the father in Cleve- 
land, perhaps in an almost incredibly short time, con- 
sidering the distance from Cleveland to Denver and re- 
turn (for it should be remembered that letters, as well 
as boxes, have to be transferred), receives' a letter of 
thanks from the son. The Chicago-to-Council Bluffs 
waybill will in due course reach, and be revised and be 
found correct, or otherwise, by the Freight Auditor, 
and will appear in the Chicago "forwarded" report and 
in the Council Bluffs "received" report. 

Freight charges are a debit to the account of the re- 
ceiving agent, but do not affect the account of the for- 
warding agent; advances are a credit to the account 
of the forwarding agent, and a debit to the account of 
the receiving agent ; prepaid is a debit to the account of 
the forwarding agent, and a credit to the account of the 
receiving agent. On the Chicago-to-Council Bluffs 



THE FREIGHT AUDITOR 353 

waybill, here referred to, the Chicago, Milwaukee & 
St. Paul Chicago agent will be debited with $6 way- 
billed as prepaid (he collected the amount in settlement 
with the Lake Shore & Michigan Southern), and will 
be credited with $2, waybilled as advances (he paid the 
amount in settlement with the Lake Shore & Michigan 
Southern). The receiving agent at Council Bluffs will 
be debited $2 freight charges and $2 advances, and will 
be credited with $6 prepaid, in accordance with the 
waybill, and he is by reason of this credit enabled to pay 
$2 over to the Union Pacific. If nothing had been 
prepaid, the Lake Shore & Michigan Southern would 
have collected its earnings' in junction settlement at 
Chicago; the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul would 
have collected its earnings, and the amount ad- 
vanced to the Lake Shore & Michigan Southern from 
the Union Pacific in junction settlement at Council 
Bluffs ; and the Union Pacific would have collected its 
earnings, and the amount advanced by it at Council 
Bluffs, from the consignee upon delivery of the freight. 
If, under a through-billing arrangement, the Lake 
Shore & Michigan Southern had waybilled this same 
shipment through from Cleveland to Denver, the neces- 
sity for rebilling, and junction settlements, at Chicago 
and Council Bluffs would have been avoided ; one way- 
bill instead of three would have carried the freight from 
the point of origin to> its final destination, and the distri- 
bution and adjustment of charges between the three 
railway companies would have been effected through 
the Freight Auditors' monthly interline freight settle- 
ment. 



354 RAILWAY ORGANIZATION AND WORKING 

On a railway operated by divisions, on which, for 
statistical or other purposes', the earnings and expenses 
are ascertained by divisions, the Freight Auditor makes 
a separate division balance-sheet for each one of Such 
divisions of the road, on which sheet only the forward- 
ing and receiving stations of that division appear. The 
"received" reports of these stations will include, not 
only freight from other stations on the same division, 
but freight from stations on other divisions', and 
freight received on interline waybilling from stations 
on foreign roads. Therefore, to effect a balance, the 
charges on freight so received from points off the divi- 
sion must be provided for on the "forwarded" side of 
the division balance-sheet. This is done by means of 
what are sometimes called "made-up sheets," on which 
are drawn off from the "received" reports all items 
from each of the other divisions, or foreign roads, and 
the footings' of these "made-up sheets" are entered on 
the "forwarded" side of the division balance-sheet, thus 
indicating the amount of charges on freight received 
from each outside division, and from each foreign road. 
In the same way, the "forwarded" reports will include, 
not only freight which has been received at other 
stations on the same division, but also freight which 
has been received at stations on other divisions, as well 
as that which has been received on interline waybills 
at stations on foreign roads. To effect a balance, this is 
offset by entering on the "received" side of the division 
balance-sheet the footings of "made-up sheets" cover- 
ing such items, which indicate the amount of charges 
on such freight received by each outside division and 



THE FREIGHT AUDITOR 355 

by each foreign road. These "made-up sheets" include 
all the interline and interdivision earnings — earnings 
to be divided among the several divisions, or with other 
railway companies, en a mileage or ozher agreed basis 
— and therefore, after being used by "Division 2" 
(checking and balancing freight reports), are of 
service to the forces in "Division 3" (interline freight 
settlements) and "Division 4" (apportionment of earn- 
ings by states and divisions), to whom they are trans- 
ferred. 

Up to' about the time of the passage of the Interstate 
Commerce Law, freight originating on one road and 
destined to a point on another road was handled very 
generally on local waybilling. The initial line way- 
billed the freight to the connecting-line junction, collect- 
ing its charges in junction account; the connecting-line 
agent rebilling the freight, and the agent at the destina- 
tion making collection of freight charges and advances 
from the consignee, unless the shipment happened to be 
prepaid. Freight settlements between railway compa- 
nies were thus confined to the station agents' at the 
junction stations, and the Freight Auditor, in his busi- 
ness, had about as much occasion for intercourse with 
other Freight Auditors a,s a shoe-cobbler has need of 
business intercourse with other shoe-cobblers. The 
steady growth of interline waybilling — the waybilling 
through from point of origin to destination; all roads 
ignoring party lines, so to speak, in their efforts to rush 
freight through to its destination, and so better to 
serve the people — has radically changed all this, "Fast 
freight-line" cars are no' longer required to obviate the 



356 RAILWAY ORGANIZATION AND WORKING 

necessity of transferring interline freight en route. 
While not very long ago the Freight Auditor received 
his own local waybills only, or practically so, he now 
receives regularly the original waybills of perhaps' one 
hundred and fifty or two hundred through-billing for- 
eign roads for settlement by him in interline freight 
account. 

The pressing need, the absolute necessity, for some 
agreement or common understanding (of which there 
was none), as to how settlement of interline freight 
accounts should be made, resulted in a meeting, on 
December 7, 1887, of interested auditors', mostly 
strangers to each other, at the old Grand Pacific Hotel 
in Chicago. That meeting was the nucleus, and is 
sometimes referred to> as the initial meeting, of what is 
now the Association of American Railway Accounting 
Officers, at whose annual meetings practically all of 
the railways on this continent are represented, and 
which, through its standing and special committees, 
and at its' annual conventions, has discussed, digested, 
and arrived at definite and clearly stated conclusions 
on hundreds O'f problems in railroad accounts, to the 
great advantage of all concerned; and which has, 
among other things, formulated a plan for interline 
freight settlements which is clear and adequate, and a 
recognized standard. The Association in 1889 pub- 
lished conclusions, based upon its' experience, to the 
effect that interline billing of freight between remote 
points — between points on the Atlantic and points on 
the Pacific — "is practicable and desirable;" and that 
"neither the direction, the distance, nor the number of 



THE FREIGHT AUDITOR 357 

intermediate roads is any hindrance to interline billing 
on the association plan." It is to be hoped that our 
friends of the Traffic Departments, between whom 
agreements are made as to what portion of the joint 
earnings shall be allotted in interline freight settlements 
to each of the railway companies in the line, will not 
misconstrue this, and, instead of providing for division 
on a percentage or some other simple basis, swamp the 
Freight Auditor, or build up a great industry in his 
office, by providing for indiscriminate interline billing, 
with divisions on a classification or some other compli- 
cated basis. 

The association plan contemplates the rendering, by 
the Freight Auditor of the receiving road to the Freight 
Auditor of the forwarding road and of each inter- 
mediate road, of monthly "abstracts'" (Association 
Form No. 104) of all interline waybills received, dated 
in or prior to the month for which settlement is to be 
made; to be rendered in time to reach them by the 
eighteenth day of the succeeding month. The busi- 
ness from each station to each station, and via each 
junction, is' to be shown separately. The abstracts are 
to be accompanied by "division statements" (Associa- 
tion Form No. 105), summarizing the abstracts, and 
showing also the division of revenue among the roads 
interested. The Freight Auditor of the receiving road 
may also render a "summary" (Association Form No. 
no), being a recapitulation of the debit and credit 
items, and showing the balance of his (received) side 
of the account. If he receives from his correspondent a 
similar summary, covering* the freight moved in the op- 



358 RAILWAY ORGANIZATION AND WORKING 

posite direction, the balance arrived at by combining the 
two summaries will be the net balance for settlement; 
or, if the Freight Auditors prefer not to render the 
summary, they may, after interchange of abstracts 
and division statements, make up and render an "ac- 
count current" (Association Form No. 106), being a 
recapitulation of all debit and credit items on freight 
forwarded, freight received, "intermediate haul," "cor- 
rection accounts," etc., and showing the balance subject 
to draft. Such monthly balances, under the recommen- 
dation of the association, are generally considered as 
subject to sight draft on or before the twenty-fifth day 
of the succeeding month. In order to facilitate settle- 
ments, the abstracts and division statements are in the 
first instance accepted by forwarding and intermediate 
roads, as rendered by the Freight Auditor of the receiv- 
ing road ; but the Freight Auditors' of the forwarding 
and intermediate roads will not be content to pass such 
abstracts and division statements without investigation, 
and any discrepancies that may be discovered therein 
are to be brought to the attention of the Freight Au- 
ditor of the receiving road in a "statement of differ- 
ences" (Association Form, No. 108). The items shown 
in this statement will be reviewed by the receiving road, 
and if the Freight Auditor of this road concedes that 
the original settlement was in error, he will adjust the 
error in a "correction account" (Association Form No. 
107), to be included in a subsequent monthly settle- 
ment. 

Each intermediate road collects its own proportion 
of the joint earnings from the receiving road, regard- 



THE FREIGHT AUDITOR 359 

less of any question as to> whether such earnings were 
paid by the consignee at the destination, or prepaid by 
the consignor at the point of origin. Advances, and 
prepaid items, on interline waybills are included by the 
receiving road in its settlement with the forwarding 
road, and do not enter into the account of intermediate 
roads. Payments of interline freight balances are made 
usually only once a month; but in exceptional cases, 
especially where the traffic moves only or largely in one 
direction, payments of approximate balances are made 
weekly, such interim payments being taken into consid- 
eration in arriving at the amount for final payment 
about the twenty-fifth of the succeeding month, to 
close the monthly account. 

The apportionment between roads, by Freight Au- 
ditors, each month, of hundreds of thousands of dollars 
of joint freight earnings on interline waybills is not, 
like the transcribing of a lawyer's brief, a mere matter 
of clerical labor ; it involves great responsibility. Integ- 
rity, ability, reliability, untiring vigilance and inquisi- 
tiveness, and conscientious combativeness, are qualities 
which should not be lacking in the Freight Auditor, 
and his assistants engaged on this work. 

The apportionment of earnings by states (and by di- 
visions, usually, when required) is made on the basis 
of a mileage prorate. For example : Freight originat- 
ing at St. Paul, Minn., and waybilled from that station 
to La Crescent, Minn., would not cross a state line, and 
the transportation charges ( ioo per cent.) would there- 
fore be apportioned to earnings in Minnesota; while 
freight originating at St. Paul, Minn., and waybilled 



360 RAILWAY ORGANIZATION AND WORKING 

from that station to> Chicago, 111., would move in three 
states, and the transportation charges would accord- 
ingly be apportioned to Minnesota, Wisconsin and Illi- 
nois', at the ratio which the movement in each state 
bears to the total movement. As in the case of other 
computations made by the Freight Auditor, it is impor- 
tant that this apportionment should be correct; the 
figures serve not simply as' interesting statistical infor- 
mation, but as the basis for taxation in states where the 
railway companies are taxed on basis of gross earnings. 
Statistics showing the number of tons of freight 
carried one mile can be compiled by the Freight Auditor 
from several sources of information. They can be 
made from the monthly freight-received reports. For 
example : Taking a vertically ruled sheet, with columns 
of appropriate width, enter in the several columns 
across' the top of the sheet, as captions, "1 mile, 2, 3, 4, 
5, 10 miles; 20, 30, 40, 50, 60, 100, 200, 300, 400, 
500 miles." The first item on the freight-report recapi- 
tulation is perhaps 150,000 pounds, moved 85 miles to 
Chicago from Milwaukee; this item would be entered 
on the sheet: 150,000 pounds in the column headed 60 
miles, 150,000 pounds in the column headed 20 miles, 
and 150,000 pounds in the column headed 5 miles. 
The next item on the recapitulation being, say, 68,000 
pounds, moved from a point 326 miles distant, the entry 
on the sheet would be: 68,000 pounds in the column 
headed 300 miles, 68,000 pounds in the column headed 
20 miles, 68,000 pounds in the column headed 5 miles, 
and 68,000 pounds in the column headed 1 mile; and 
so on, dividing the total pounds by 2,000 to reduce to 



THE FREIGHT AUDITOR 3 6 i 

tons. Having determined from such computations the 
number of tons of freight hauled one mile, the rate per 
ton per mile realized for the movement of the freight 
can be arrived at by dividing the total amount o<f freight 
earnings by the number of ton-miles. 

Notwithstanding the facilities provided for inspect- 
ing, weighing and handling freight, and the issuance to 
that most useful and indispensable employee, the station 
agent, of tariffs, classifications, books of rules, circulars, 
orders, bulletins, instructions, and cautions printed on 
blank forms, and the almost constant flow of special 
and general written, telegraphed, telephoned, and verbal 
instructions, explanations, mild criticisms, commenda- 
tions, and pointed questions', sent to* the station agent, 
not only by the Freight Auditor, pertaining to freight 
and freight accounts, but also by almost every other offi- 
cial, of every department on the system, having any in- 
terest in anything at or about the station — notwith- 
standing this', many claims are presented to> the railway 
company by shippers for overcharges on freight, and 
for loss of, or damage to, freight. For much of this the 
station agent, of course, is not responsible; although like 
Shylock, he is hampered, and is required to take nothing 
less and nothing more than the exact amount named in 
the tariffs. It is well for the Freight Auditor, or the 
Freight Claim Agent, to settle overcharge claims 
promptly; but it is far better for them to avoid the 
overcharge in the first instance, by collecting, through 
the station agent, only what the railway company is en- 
titled to under the tariffs for the service rendered. It 
is well to set a broken bone promptly, but better still to 



362 RAILWAY ORGANIZATION AND WORKING 

prevent the fracture. The station agents', who, as a 
class, have won and enjoy the confidence and respect 
of their superior officers, are the railway company's 
representatives with whom the shipping public come in 
contact, and much of interest to the companies is con- 
tingent upon what they do, or fail to> do*. Hence, the 
host of typewriting machines of the Freight Auditor 
and others, ever ready to hammer out letters' to the 
agents, of "Do," "Do not," "Why did you?" "Why did 
you not?" And such admonitions are harmoniously 
accepted and acted upon, without friction or irritation 
— like the crescendos, fortissimos, and diminuendos 
signaled by the baton of the autocratic leader of an 
orchestra. 

Some years ago there appeared in print an extended 
humorous narrative, in verse, credited to Mr. S. A. L. 
Maginn, entitled "The Station Agent's Woes," the 
concluding lines' of which are as follows : 

When death o'ertakes, and beyond he wakes, 

And knocks upon the door, 

And Old Peter looks upon the books, 

To figure up his score, 

He trembling asks if "Among the tasks, 

In this beautiful land of gold, 

Is there no escape from hustling for freight? 

Must I do this, as of old? 

Have you Superintendents, and General Freight Agents, 

Claim Agents, and Auditors, here? 

If this be so, I will go below." 

Old Peter the while looks down with a smile, 

And takes him by the hand, 

Saying: "Never fear; there are none of them here. 

Come in and join the band!" 



THE FREIGHT AUDITOR 363 

As a matter of fact, however, there exists between 
the Freight Auditor and the station agent the most 
cordial relations, and the most pleasant intercourse 
consistent with a strict enforcement of the rules. 

"Loss and damage" claims are usually handled by 
the Freight Claim Agent. The claimant for overcharge 
will be expected to produce evidence of payment — 
ordinarily the receipted freight bill bearing the signa- 
ture of the station agent to whom payment was made. 
The claim will be given a designating number, and 
made a matter of record. The Freight Auditor will 
refer to the waybill, or to his record of it, to see whether 
it bears a reference to any previous claim and whether 
the agent has accounted for the full amount shown to 
have been collected; and will note thereon a reference 
to the number of the present claim. In case of a car- 
lot shipment, the waybill for which will cover no other 
consignment, it may be thought advisable to make the 
claim reference notation on the "received" report, or 
the "abstract;" but in the case of less-than-carload 
freight, the waybill for which may cover several con- 
signments besides the overcharged one in question, the 
claim reference notation will be made on the waybill, 
opposite the particular consignment on account of 
which the claim is made. On some roads the claim 
would be vouchered or declined by the Freight Claim 
Agent; on other roads it would be not only checked, 
but also vouchered, or declined, by the Freight Auditor. 

Grain, as it leaves the farm, is frequently not in good 
condition for the market, requiring cleaning to make 
it salable to the best advantage. The operator of an 



364 RAILWAY ORGANIZATION AND WORKING 

interior mill with capacity to produce more flour, etc., 
than is required for local consumption, may wish to 
place his products on the market in the larger cities, 
in competition with the products of the city mills. This 
he might be unable to do successfully if required to pay 
a local rate on wheat from the point of origin to his mill, 
and another local rate on the flour forwarded from his 
mill ; the city millers being in a position, to have wheat 
for grinding at their mills shipped to- them directly from 
the same points of origin, passing en route through the 
interior milling town, at the one direct through rate, 
usually less than the sum of the two local rates', to and 
from the interior milling point. The establishment 
of cleaning and milling in transit rates by the railway 
companies tends to relieve any such handicap on the 
producers and interior millers of grain. The collection 
of such transit rates necessitates the opening of "transit 
accounts" at the intermediate or "transit" stations, by 
the station agents, under the supervision of the Freight 
Auditor, in which the miller is credited with the weight 
of wheat, or other grain, on which he pays transit rates, 
and is debited with the weight of flour, or other 
product of wheats as forwarded to its destination with- 
out additional charge — "free on transit account;" or 
the "cleaner," in the same way, is credited with the 
weight received on which he pays transit rate, and 
debited with the weight of cleaned grain forwarded 
"free on transit account." For example: A miller 
located at a transit station 200 miles from Chicago may 
receive, say, 500,000 pounds of wheat from a point 250 
miles from Chicago, to be milled in transit for Chicago, 



THE FREIGHT AUDITOR 365 

on which he pays the agent at the transit station the 
Chicago milling in transit rate, covering the entire dis- 
tance — 250 miles — although at the time of payment 
there has been a movement of only 50 miles, from the 
point of origin to the mill. The agent credits to him 
the 500,000 pounds, entering it in his transit account 
under the head of "grain received;" and some time 
afterward, when the wheat has been converted into 
flour, bran, shorts, etc., and such products have been 
returned by the miller to the agent for shipment to 
Chicago, their weight will be debited by the latter to 
the miller in the "milling in transit account," under 
the head of "product shipped;" and the flour, etc., so 
charged in the transit account will be waybilled from 
the transit station to Chicago without charges — "free on 
transit account." Usually a separate transit account 
is kept of each kind of grain — the product of one kind 
of grain not being permitted to be shipped against 
transit rates paid on another kind of grain — and a sep- 
arate transit account for each transit destination. Great 
care must be exercised to prevent "overshipments" — 
that is, the forwarding of any products as "free on tran- 
sit account" in excess of existing transit credits created 
by payment of transit rates on grain received ; as in the 
case of the banker, who accepts the money you deposit 
with him, and permits you to draw from the bank as 
much as; but no more than, has been deposited. 

Among Freight Auditors of the several railway 
companies, there is still, in matters of detail, much dif- 
ference of practice; and the assignment to them of 
duties is not uniform on all roads. This paper, how- 



366 RAILWAY ORGANIZATION AND WORKING 

ever, is intended to convey, in a general way, some idea 
of the work and methods of the Freight Auditor, or 
Auditor of Freight Accounts, 



VITALIZED STATISTICS 

JAMES PEAB0DY, STATISTICIAN, ATCHISON, TOPEKA & 
SANTA FE RAILWAY SYSTEM 

A wise king of olden times said : "Of the making 
of books there is no end." Had he lived today and 
known as much of our present civilization as he did of 
his own times, he would have been justified in including 
statistics in his averment. Had he chosen to> enlarge 
upon the subject, he might have added that, of the 
books which are written, few are put to good use ; and 
in this respect the inclusion of statistics would be 
particularly appropriate. 

As generally understood, statistics are the statement 
of results when expressed in figures ; and commonly all 
tabulations of figures, regardless of their character, are 
so designated. Such a definition is much too narrow, 
and, were I making a dictionary, I should rather say 
that a statistic is the concrete expression of the joint 
result of the interaction of any group of concurrent 
forces. I am aware that this definition needs defining, 
and I hope that I may be able to do this as I proceed. 

In this day and generation there is no room for lag- 
gards. The honored president of the United States is 
the best possible expression of this truth. In other 
words, he is a "statistic, 1 ' representing in himself the 
result of the progress made by the American people 
and the character developed thereunder. His favorite 
adjective, "strenuous," fitly characterizes one of the 

367 



368 RAILWAY ORGANIZATION AND WORKING 

most important elements which make for success under 
existing conditions. We need on our part so completely 
to engross and identify ourselves with our work as to 
constitute ourselves the manifestation of that for which 
we stand. In other words, we too* should aim to be the 
''statistic" of the thing in which we are engaged; and, 
to do' this, we must represent results. 

It will be readily apprehended from what I have 
said that I have little regard for mere facts which can 
be made of no service, either because they are without 
value on the one hand, or because they are out of place 
on the other. Only when statistics can be employed 
progressively are they of positive consequence. They 
may, as serving to satisfy curiosity or furnish data for 
learned disquisitions, possess' a sort of negative value; 
but for the practical purposes of commercial or other 
life they must be of a character to indicate the proper 
direction of future effort. We do not so much want to 
know that our former conclusions are established by 
our statistics, as to- be able to make correct deductions 
for the future by means of them; and it is only when 
taking on this latter character that they may be said 
to be vitalized. 

The extent to which railroad transportation enters 
into the life of every individual is little realized, even 
by those directly identified therewith. Some idea of 
it may be gathered from a few comparisons. We have 
had it impressed upon us that one of the great burdens 
we have to bear is the large import tax that we pay 
upon goods brought to this country, and which in the 
year 1903 amounted to $284,479,582. The correspond- 



VITALIZED STATISTICS 3 6 9 

ent taxes collected on account of internal revenue, such 
as spirits, tobacco, etc., amounted to $230,810,124. The 
total receipts from our postal service (and everybody 
uses postage stamps) during the same year was $134,- 
224,443. All other receipts from miscellaneous sources 
were $45,106,969; so that the grand total of the 
receipts of the United States for that year was $694,- 
621,118 — an enormous sum, but only a little more 
than one-third of the amount paid for the service of 
transportation in the United States during the same 
year. The total value of all the goods imported into 
the United States was only a little more than one-half 
of the amount of the railroad revenues. To bring the 
comparison closer home, it may be mentioned that the 
value of the entire wheat crop of the United States, on 
the basis of one dollar per bushel — and it must be 
remembered that a very large percentage of that valua- 
tion is the cost of carrying the wheat to the market — 
amounted, in the year 1902, to $1,522,519,891, or con- 
siderably less than the railroad earnings of the country 
for the year in which that crop would be transported. 
These earnings, for the year ending June 30, 1903, 
aggregated $1,908,857,826 — a sum which, even in 
these days when millions form the ordinary measure of 
a man's fortune, one can scarcely comprehend. It is. 
therefore, no wonder that, in order properly to collect 
and expend this vast sum, the most careful analysis of 
ways, means, and methods concerning both income and 
outgo shall be made; and it is to some suggestions in 
this line that I now wish to turn. 

Railroad statistics fall naturally under two principal 



37o RAILWAY ORGANIZATION AND WORKING 

divisions : the one relating to traffic, and the other to 
operation. So diverse are these, as to> both their 
source and their application, that they are almost wholly 
unrelated to each other. The more complex, as well 
as perhaps the more important, of these two* branches 
is that of traffic, although hitherto it has received the 
less statistical attention. We have spent a great deal 
of time and money in the analysis of our operating 
expenses, but we have done very little of that work in 
connection with our earnings. To' be successful, the 
modern merchant must know exactly what he is 
making or losing on each class of merchandise handled 
by him; but until recently there were no railroads — and 
even now there are very few — that have any accurate 
idea as to the results of handling any particular traffic. 
If only the volume of earnings during the present year 
showed an increase over the corresponding period of 
the previous year, the result was considered as reflect- 
ing credit on the department, and was therefore satis- 
factory. In former days net revenue was not the con- 
cern of the Traffic Department. Gross earnings was the 
shibboleth of the traffic official; and little wonder, for 
he was neither charged with the responsibility, nor had 
he any means of knowing or controlling the profitable 
relations of receipts and expenditures. It is only within 
the past two or three years that objection was made by 
the railroads to> the request of the Interstate Commerce 
Commission for the furnishing of commodity statistics, 
on the ground that the cost of prq^aring such data was 
so excessive as to make it impracticable. This, 
although erroneous, so far as any necessary expendi- 



VITALIZED STATISTICS 37 1 

ture is concerned, affords perhaps the actual, although 
by no means an adequate, reason why this important 
branch of railroading should have been so long 
neglected. 

The more progressive of our railroad managers are 
beginning to see the error of this view, and to realize 
that information which will enable the Traffic Depart- 
ment to earn an additional dollar is just as valuable as 
that which shows the Operating Department how to 
save one. The problem is how this can best be accom- 
plished. The origin of traffic is so widespread, the 
volume of traffic is so large, and the conditions of 
traffic are so diverse as to make it manifestly impossi- 
ble for any general statement to be made, within com- 
prehensible limits, which will afford the directing head 
of that department the information he needs; and yet 
it is absolutely essential that he shall have at hand, or 
within easy reach, whatever it may be necessary for 
him to know respecting his business. While it is the 
grand total that he views with chief concern, it is not 
with the mass that he deals. What may be designated 
the units of traffic are the things which command his 
immediate attention, and it is concerning such of these 
as are of present moment that he needs to be advised. 
The problem, therefore, is not so much that of accumu- 
lation as of segregation ; not the gathering together of 
the millions of transactions which enter into> the han- 
dling of traffic, but the keeping of them apart, so that, 
when called for in any form, the necessary combination 
can be readily made. 

Each separate shipment on a railroad is carried on 



372 RAILWAY ORGANIZATION AND WORKING 

a waybill, and an abstract is made which recites the 
essential facts of these waybills, embracing the total of 
the daily or weekly business of every station on both 
the forwarded and received side. On the road with 
which I am connected these abstracts are, by the carbon 
process, made in duplicate, and a copy is sent by every 
station to the Statistical Department, thereby giving 
to it the record of all traffic movements. In this depart- 
ment is prepared, from these abstracts, what is known 
as a "monthly commodity unit," which represents in a 
single item the movement of every separate commodity 
between any twoi stations on the line, showing origin, 
destination, weight, ton-miles, and earnings. The 
abstracts are then filed in calendar order by stations; 
the monthly units, after being aggregated in certain 
general ways, being filed by commodities. We thus 
have at hand in statistical form not only the informa- 
tion ordinarily wanted, but are prepared to furnish 
almost immediately upon call any information that may 
be desired. 

One or two actual illustrations may serve to make 
this plain. A certain large firm in a jobbing town in 
the West, where competition is keen, made application 
for a reduction of rates from that point into a defined 
local territory to which, from that point, the existing 
tariff was prohibitive, and which was therefore supplied 
from elsewhere. The compensation offered, in event 
the desired rates were made, was to give to the road 
from which the concession was asked all the incoming 
business, which was then being divided among several 
roads. The problem thus presented was : Will the 



VITALIZED STATISTICS 373 

additional revenue to be derived from the incoming 
traffic which the road will then get more than offset the 
loss caused by the reduction in revenue on the traffic it 
is now getting? This involved the consideration of a 
large volume of traffic, moving from many points, at 
higher rates than would apply if the demand were sup- 
plied from the new point of distribution. The Statis- 
tical Department was called upon, and, having at hand 
the information, easily prepared a statement which 
effectually disposed of the proposition, it being shown 
that the effect would be, not only to reduce the revenues 
of the railroad, but also to> increase the cost to the 
consumer. 

In another case a stock-raiser wished to make a large 
immediate movement of a certain commodity, which, 
because of the long- and short-haul clause of the law, 
would interfere with existing rates on the same com- 
modity toi intermediate points. It was necessary to 
know at once to what extent revenues would be affected, 
if the required rate was made. The Statistical Depart- 
ment, through its unit system, was able to give the 
information in three hours which, under the ordinary 
method of obtaining such data, would have required 
three weeks, with the result that a profitable business, 
which would otherwise have been lost, was secured. 

Again, arrangements are being constantly made by 
the Traffic Department covering large movements of 
freight; but it frequently happens that shippers for 
various reasons divert their shipments before the speci- 
fied amount has moved. It is the business of the 
Statistical Department to keep watch of such traffic, 



374 RAILWAY ORGANIZATION AND WORKING 

which is easily done through the medium of the 
monthly units of the commodity movements. It is also 
frequently necessary for the Traffic Department to 
know the extent of the business of particular shippers ; 
this the Statistical Department furnishes on short 
notice, through the use o<f the abstracts which are so 
filed as toi have the record all together. The number 
of these calls are so great, and their nature so diverse, 
as to render impossible any compilation in advance 
which will serve the purpose; but it is found that, 
through the medium of the commodity units on the 
one hand, and the segregated abstracts on the other, 
almost any question regarding the movement of traffic 
is easily and quickly answered. 

It is also valuable to> know just what each different 
class of traffic earns. There is widespread ignorance 
in this regard, and no little injustice has been done to 
railroads because of it. In the early days of railroad- 
ing some man conceived the idea of working out the 
average earnings per ton-mile — a factor not only use- 
less as conveying any information, but absolutely 
harmful because of the wrong impression thereby 
created. During the past twenty years, which embraces 
the period of governmental railroad regulation, this 
average ton-mile rate has done yeoman service in the 
reduction of railway charges. No less an authority 
than the Interstate Commerce Commission employed 
it in an opinion wherein a rate prescribed by it was 
held to be certainly justified, for the reason that it was 
more than double that of the average rate per ton-mile 
received by the same road as shown in its annual report. 



VITALIZED STATISTICS 375 

although, as a matter of fact, it was, from any trans- 
portation standpoint, altogether below the standard of 
reasonable compensation. While, therefore, the state- 
ment of average earnings per ton-mile may be positively 
declared to be not only useless, but harmful, a report 
of the actual earnings per ton-mile on each separate 
commodity is a positive benefit. This, when taken in 
connection with the average distance each commodity 
is hauled, the average loading of each commodity per 
car, and the total ton-miles of each commodity moved, 
furnishes the traffic man with a comprehensive basis on 
which to formulate his plans for securing traffic. 

It will be observed that no mention has been made 
of passenger traffic. As already stated, we are using 
statistics not so much as a record of past events as an 
indication of future possibilities. So far as I have been 
able to determine, the results of past passenger traffic 
furnish no prophecy of future business. That is to say, 
there is nothing which we can get out of the business 
already carried which will tell us how to get a single 
additional passenger in the future. We are required 
by law to furnish certain information to both the state 
and the national authorities concerning the movement 
of passengers, and our figures in this connection go 
far enough only to meet this requirement. Occasion- 
ally information is desired by our officials regarding 
a certain movement; but that is easily furnished from 
the data we keep for the purposes already referred to, 
and requires no special treatment. 

Operating statistics deal with an entirely different 
proposition; they relate to expenditure and perform- 



37 6 RAILWAY ORGANIZATION AND WORKING 

ance. The problem which confronts that department 
of railroad is to handle the business with the greatest 
practicable facility at the lowest possible cost consist- 
ent with economical results. This is a very different 
proposition from that which confronts the Traffic 
Department. There transportation is dealt with on 
the basis of its entire movement from origin to destina- 
tion. Here consideration is taken of each separate 
movement en route. Also, the Traffic Department is 
concerned only with such tonnage as produces revenue, 
while the Operating Department must take account of 
all the tonnage moved, which includes not only revenue 
freight, but what is known as company freight, together 
with the weight of the cars in which the commodities 
are transported. 

To illustrate : On a dozen shipments from Chicago 
to San Francisco the Traffic Department takes account 
of the rate-paying qualifications of each of the articles 
transported and deals with them, separately as to each 
commodity, but, for the entire distance, as a single item. 
This is because of the different rates charged on the 
various commodities. The Operating Department, 
however, consolidates all of these shipments into a 
single item and reduces them, together with the cars in 
which they are carried, to one common factor. It then 
takes account by record of each movement; and there 
are as many items to be considered as there are engines 
hauling the freight, conductors in charge of it, operat- 
ing divisions of the road over which it passes, and sub- 
divisions into districts of main line and branches. It 
is readily apparent, therefore, that two entirely differ- 



I VITALIZED STATISTICS 377 

ent theories of statistics must obtain in the treatment 
of problems which are so diverse. And just here is 
the explanation why railroad statistics, as ordinarily 
compiled, are wholly inadequate for any purpose. It is 
manifestly impossible to make the data necessary for 
the intelligent apprehension of the operation of either 
one department apply to the other; for, so- far as the 
character of the information required is concerned, 
there is little in common. 

It may be well here to point out a serious, as well 
as a very costly, error which has crept into railroading 
because of the misuse of inadequate statistics. Those 
of us who have been connected with, or have studied, 
railroad operation have heard of late years a good deal 
of the "operating ratio," which means the proportion 
of the total receipts of the road paid out for what are 
known as operating expenses. Men have been em- 
ployed at high salaries to take charge of operations, 
because the statistics of the road on which they were 
previously engaged showed a small operating ratio. 
No more misleading, as well as unfortunate, idea was 
ever conceived than that the operating ratio expresses 
the measure of transporting efficiency. The final 
test of all railroad operation is the balance-sheet, and 
it is very possible for a railroad with an operating ratio 
of 75 per cent., which is not considered commendable, 
to show a larger balance than would have been the case 
had its operating ratio been reduced to* 60 per cent., 
which is thought creditable; although, in the first 
instance, Wall Street would stand aghast, and, in the 
second, owners of other properties would indulge in a 



37 8 RAILWAY ORGANIZATION AND WORKING 

race to see which could secure the services of the man 
who had succeeded in reducing his ratio to such a sup- 
posedly favorable basis. 

To measure the capacity of a transportation official 
by the operating ratio can easily be shown to* be both 
illogical and unfair. One of the principal factors' in 
the determination of this ratio is gross earnings — some- 
thing with which the man in charge of operation now- 
adays has nothing whatever to; do. Another im- 
portant factor is made up of what is' known as operat- 
ing expenses, one of the main items of which is 
maintenance of way. The amount to> be expended on 
this account each year is determined, not by the 
transportation official — although he is consulted — but 
by the Board of Directors, or at least by the Executive 
Committee, and the official is expected to use the desig- 
nated amount to the best advantage. Still another 
important item is maintenance of equipment, and here 
too the amount is largely determined in the same way ; 
for maintenance includes not only repairs, but also 
renewals'. The general expenses — under which term 
are included the salaries of the general officers together 
with their office expenses, and also insurance and the 
law — are also matters wholly beyond the purview of 
the transportation official. Thus we have left only 
those expenditures which come under the head of con- 
ducting transportation, over which he has immediate 
control ; and of these a very large proportion are beyond 
his' ken. Such items as superintendence of traffic, 
advertising, outside agencies, commissions, and to 
some extent car mileage and loss and damage, amount- 



VITALIZED STATISTICS 379 

ing perhaps to from 10 to 15 per cent, of the total out- 
lay under this head, are not within his province. It is 
perfectly plain, therefore, that to make the operating 
ratio the measure of an official's capacity is doing him 
an injustice on the one hand, or giving him undue 
credit on the other. As constituting a standard, it is 
altogether valueless. 

Not only is this the case, but it operates to injure 
railroad revenues'. Any man worth having on a rail- 
road is striving all the while to< improve his position, 
and he will naturally shape his conduct to meet the 
requirements of promotion. So long as the operating 
ratio is the standard, regard for his advancement 
demands that every engine when moved shall always 
be loaded to its full capacity, and that such capacity 
shall consist, as far as possible, of loaded cars. Traf- 
fic, on the other hand, frequently requires rapid han- 
dling, and very often large movement, of empty cars at 
short notice, in order that business which would other- 
wise be lost may be secured. It is easy to see that just 
here is projected a conflict. Lightly loaded trains and 
fast movement, or the hauling of empty cars under 
quick orders and for long distances, means an increased 
operating ratio; and although the result of such move- 
ment may serve to increase the net balance at the end 
of the year, the man's reputation suffers. The trouble 
is that the revenue which is lost because of failure to 
perform a service which unfavorably affects the oper- 
ating ratio does not in any way appear in the accounts. 
If such lost revenue could be charged up as an item 
of expense, there would be a very great change in the 



380 RAILWAY ORGANIZATION AND WORKING 

method of operation on many roads. This is one of 
the problems which it is the duty of the Statistical 
Department to solve. 

For many years there have been divergent views 
as to the best unit toi employ in this department for 
purposes of comparison. The commercial ton-mile, 
which includes only revenue freight; the net ton-mile, 
which embraces all freight both commercial and com- 
pany; the gross ton-mile, which includes the weight 
of both the car and contents; the car-mile, which con- 
siders each individual car as a unit ; and the train-mile, 
which treats as a single item the entire number of cars 
in each train, have all had their advocates. While it is 
conceded that nc one of them constitutes a perfect unit, 
it is' now generally admitted that the gross ton-mile 
forms the nearest approach to^ it. 

Selecting, then, the gross ton-mile as the unit of 
work performed, it is necessary to> provide a correlative 
unit as the measure of the performance of the work. 
Here, again, variant views' are held, and we have the 
engine-mile, which is the unit of miles run per locomo- 
tive ; the tractive force, which expresses the theoretical 
hauling power of the locomotive; and the trac- 
tion ton-mile, which is the weight on the locomo- 
tive drivers multiplied by the miles run. The first, 
because of the varying size of the locomotives, is mani- 
festly incompetent ; the second, because of the extreme 
divergence of views as to' the factors to be considered 
in its determinations, is of little value; leaving the 
third, which, although indefinite as to the 
amount, is, nevertheless, absolutely comparative as 



VITALIZED STATISTICS 381 

to performance, and therefore the best unit thus far 
ascertained. Using these two units' — to wit, the gross 
ton-miles as the measure of the work performed and 
the traction ton-mile as the measure of the force per- 
forming it — we have the ratio of both efficiency and 
economy. If we can increase our gross ton-miles per 
traction ton-mile, we are adding to our efficiency ; if we 
can do it at less cost, we are progressing in economy. 

The most convenient means for obtaining the record 
of gross ton-miles is from what is technically known 
as the "conductors' wheel report." This furnishes all 
the necessary data required for keeping account of car 
movement, train movement, gross ton movement, and 
net ton movement, all of which enter into> the statistical 
result. In connection with these movements are kept 
the records of wages of the train crew, amount of fuel 
consumed, and other items entering into the train 
expenses; so that it is easy to determine the work per- 
formed by each unit of power, and the relative direct 
cost of doing it. Into this computation also come the 
repairs of each locomotive, making it possible to deter- 
mine in a general way the type of engine best fitted for 
a given service. In order to> encourage fuel economy 
in the running of locomotives, an individual record is 
kept of the gross ton-miles hauled per ton of coal used 
by each engineer, this being posted at the end of each 
month for comparison and inspection. 

In addition to the methods already enumerated, all 
expenditures on account of operation are summarized 
under four general heads, namely : maintenance of way, 
maintenance of equipment, conducting transportation, 



382 RAILWAY ORGANIZATION AND WORKING 

and general expenses; which are in turn analyzed and 
subdivided under fifty-three designations. This distri- 
bution is first made as to location: — that is to say, the 
particular part of the line upon which each expenditure 
is made. Those outlays which, by reason of their 
general character — such as superintendence, repairs o>f 
equipment, etc. — cannot be definitely assigned as to 
location, are apportioned on the basis of car-mileage 
or locomotive-mileage on each portion of the road, as 
may be most appropriate. This distribution is made, 
not only by divisions of the road, but by main line and 
branches, so that each portion of the road bears its own 
proper burden. Having thus ascertained the amounts 
chargeable against each portion of the road, they are 
again subdivided as between freight and passenger 
service on a basis of train-mileage. Against this final 
subdivision is put the number of engine-miles, car- 
miles, ton-miles both gross and net, and train-miles, 
permitting us to compare, in each particular, the work 
of one month with that of another on each division of 
the road, as well as on the entire system. By this means 
is shown the average cost of operation on each separate 
portion of the road. 

It will be readily understood that, having on the one 
hand the average cost of transportation by divisions, 
and on the other the actual revenue earned by com- 
modities, we are able to> determine, not what it costs us 
to> haul each separate commodity, but whether we are 
receiving, on any particular commodity, the average 
cost of transportation over the particular portion of the 
road on which it moves, I think it will not be disputed 



VITALIZED STATISTICS 383 

that any equitable adjustment of transportation charges 
should assign to each principal article of commerce a 
rate which will at least pay the average cost of trans- 
portation; otherwise some commodity is compelled to 
bear a burden which properly belongs to another. 

The value of statistics of this character was 
recently demonstrated in what is known as the Texas 
Cattle-Raisers' Case, in which complaint was made 
to the Interstate Commerce Commission that the rates 
on cattle from Texas to> the markets were too high. To 
disprove this statement, the movement of a car of cattle 
was followed from representative points in each of 
forty-two rate groups in Texas and Indian Territory, 
both to Kansas' City and to Chicago. The average cost 
of movement over each separate division traveled was 
computed on the gross ton-mile basis, and it was found 
that the actual revenue received for such haul averaged 
nearly $8 per car less than the average cost to Kansas 
City, and $19.52 per car less than the average cost to 
Chicago. It was thus conclusively shown, not only 
that the rates were not too high, but that they were 
still too low, and that the recent advance of which 
complaint was made was' more than justified. 

I do not know that I have succeeded in making 
plain what I mean by the term "vitalized statistics;" 
but if I have impressed the idea that statistics, to be 
valuable, should possess a vital relation to the future, 
rather than present a mere exposition of the past, I 
shall feel more than satisfied. If also I have so pre- 
sented the subject as to prove that, for the proper mak- 
ing and application of statistics in connection with 



384 RAILWAY ORGANIZATION AND WORKING 

railroading, a knowledge of all branches is essential — 
and the more extensive the better — I shall feel that I 
have more than justified the attempt which is being 
made by the University of Chicago to provide, by 
means of this and similar courses, a way by which some 
portion of that education may be had. I would not 
encourage the noticn that the most thoroughgoing 
course that can be conceived will give all that is neces- 
sary to know for the proper performance of the duties 
attaching to the statistical or any other department of 
railroading. Practical experience is the only school 
which can supply the necessary training in this regard ; 
but it is just such opportunities as are afforded by these 
courses which will indicate the lines of investigation 
which ought to be followed. It is probably true that 
the "Jack of all trades" has had his day, and in his 
place has come the specialist who seeks to know one 
thing better and mere completely than anyone else; 
and yet I believe it is true that, specialize as closely as 
we will, the wider our knowledge in all departments, 
the better shall we be fitted to attain success in our own 
particular field of work. 



RAILWAY DEVELOPMENT IN CANADA 

WILLIAM MCNAB, ASSISTANT ENGINEER, GRAND TRUNK 
RAILWAY SYSTEM 

If a country enjoys the natural advantages of agri- 
cultural richness, mineral wealth, forest abundance, and 
extensive water power, many words will not be needed 
to demonstrate that its material progress and future 
prosperity lies largely in its means of communication. 
This' statement is especially applicable to that land 
which at the present day has the eyes of the world 
directed toward it — viz., the Dominion of Canada. 

Railways, more than all the projects of the arts and 
sciences, have, in the few years of their existence, com- 
pletely revolutionized every department of business and 
social life. With this knowledge, does it not seem 
almost incredible that there are actually men and wo- 
men in our respective communities who* were living at 
a time when there was not a single locomotive, not a 
solitary car, nor yet one mile of railway in the whole of 
the world? The steel rails over which our great pas- 
senger and freight traffic rushes, from one year's end 
to another, are really bands that bind our whole country 
together in common facilities of intercourse and trans- 
portation. 

In the early days of the settlement of Canada (by 
which I mean the early days' of the more modern 
period) vast sections of the country had to be cleared of 
bush, and there was an almost wanton destruction of 

385 



386 RAILWAY ORGANIZATION AND WORKING 

valuable timber, because facilities for reaching a market 
were lacking. Of course, such has, more or less, been 
the experience of all sparsely populated, forest-clad dis- 
tricts. The hardy pioneers, by the tyranny of circum- 
stances, had no option but to fell the great trees, and 
light what they called their "logging fires," in order to 
get rid of wood which, if available for the markets of 
today, would bring untold wealth. 

Viewed in the light of today, the isolation in which 
people lived, in all sections of the country, in these early 
days, is almost inconceivable. I recently saw a letter 
which had been written at the Pacific coast in 1843. ft 
was' dated Fort McLoughlin, northwest coast of British 
America, April 24, 1843, an d it was exactly one year 
and six months in reaching its destination — a point 
fifty miles west of the city of Toronto! Nothing in- 
tensifies a truth so much as setting it in the shadow of 
its opposite; consider, therefore, the mail facilities that 
are enjoyed today, and the dispatch afforded over 19,- 
000 miles' of railway in actual operation within the 
Dominion — as well as the hundreds more in course of 
construction, and the thousands projected and about to 
be built. Of these it is my purpose to speak a little 
later on. 

Railways, it will be admitted, are a potent factor in 
every movement and operation of national life and ex- 
pansion; but it is only in such cases as a tie-up for a 
short time — on account of a gigantic strike, or by reason 
of extraordinary forces of the elements — that we have 
our eyes opened to the extent to which the wheels of 
trade depend for their movement upon the motion of 



RAILWAY DEVELOPMENT IN CANADA 387 

car wheels. If instances were to be quoted of the cost 
of conveying freight in the early days, before the great 
water and rail facilities came to- be used, they would be 
looked upon as almost fictitious. 

Although charters for several railway lines in Cana- 
da had been obtained as early as 1832, the first attempt 
at construction was made in 1836, from Laprairie, on 
the south side of the St. Lawrence River, opposite Mon- 
treal, to the town of St. Johns, on the Richelieu 
River — a distance of eighteen miles'. It was called the 
"St. Lawrence & Champlain," and was intended to be 
an important link in the chain of communication, then 
partly existing, between Montreal and New York, by 
the water route of Lake Champlain and the Hudson 
river. This date, 1836, was fairly early as far as Cana- 
da was concerned, for it should be understood that 
up to that time only 1,100 miles of railroad were in 
operation in the whole of the United States. The rails 
of this' pioneer road were of wood, with flat iron spiked 
to them, which afforded a degree of smooth conveyance 
scarcely compatible with twentieth-century require- 
ments. 

The real epoch, however, during which railway con- 
struction in Canada had its serious beginning was' be- 
tween 1853 and 1856. What gave the enterprise 
a substantial stimulus at that time was an act of Par- 
liament, known as the Guarantee Act, passed in 1849. 
By this act the government undertook to aid any rail- 
way not less than seventy miles in length by guarantee- 
ing the payment of 6 per cent, on a sum not exceeding 
half the total cost of the road. 



388 RAILWAY ORGANIZATION AND WORKING 

A railway, known as the "Atlantic & St. Lawrence," 
had been projected and was under construction from 
the city of Portland, Maine, to the boundary line be- 
tween Vermont and Canada; and in order to> connect 
with this road, and give Montreal direct railway com- 
munication with the seaboard, a line, called the "St. 
Lawrence & Atlantic," was constructed from Long- 
ueuil, on the south shore of the St. Lawrence, opposite 
Montreal, to join the former line by way of St. 
Hyacinthe, Richmond, and Sherbrooke. It should be 
borne in mind that the great Victoria Tubular Bridge 
across the St. Lawrence at Montreal, which was des- 
tined to play a most important part in through traffic, 
had not then been constructed. 

In the year 1854 another railway, called the "Quebec 
& Richmond," was constructed from Point Levi, on the 
south side of the St. Lawrence, opposite the city of 
Quebec, to Richmond, on the St. Lawrence & Atlantic 
line. This was to give Quebec and the East connection 
with Portland, Montreal, and the West. Sections west 
of Montreal, such as Montreal to Kingston and Toron- 
to' to' Kingston (which were originally incorporated 
under separate charters), as well as the Toronto & 
Guelph Railway, from Toronto' westward and heading 
off in the direction of Sarina on the St. Clair River, 
were also being actively pushed forward at about this 
period. 

All of these lines, together with several other sec- 
tions, were devised with the ultimate object of union, 
and in due time they were incorporated as one. They 
virtually formed the backbone, or trunk, of the country; 



RAILWAY DEVELOPMENT IN CANADA 389 

hence the united roads were called the Grand Trunk 
Railway of Canada. This portion of the present Grand 
Trunk became the parent stem of the vast system which 
is today one of the greatest carriers of the commerce of 
the continent. 

The manner of entering into contracts for the sur- 
veys and construction of some of these lines was dif- 
ferent from that in vogue nowadays. Some substan- 
tial contractors, who had engaged in extensive railway 
construction in England and other European countries, 
were free just about that time. Their ability and ca- 
pacity for such work were generally recognized, not 
only in regard to their engineering qualifications, but 
also in respect of their financial standing and ability to 
float the stock. As everything then was only in a sort 
of experimental stage, it was deemed expedient to make 
a contract with one firm to make the surveys, acquire 
the land, and lay out and construct a very large portion 
of this railway at a rate which would, by their own 
estimate give them the same profit that they had made 
in England and on the continent of Europe. 

About the same time another great enterprise was in 
progress — a railway from the Niagara frontier to the 
Detroit River. This line stretched out to, and was in- 
tended to serve, the southern portions of what may have 
been looked upon at that period as the great West of 
Canada — viz., that portion of the Peninsula of Ontario, 
which lay west of the city of London. It was called 
the "Great Western." It subsequently built a number 
of smaller lines as feeders, absorbed others, and be- 
came a very important system, as a large share of the 



390 RAILWAY ORGANIZATION AND WORKING 

New York-Chicago passenger and freight traffic passed 
over it. 

Still another large enterprise was the Ontario, Sim- 
coe & Huron Railway, afterward called the "Northern 
Railway of Canada," running from Toronto north- 
ward. Like that of many other railways, the original 
name of this road was changed several times; and 
it also constructed, as well as eventually absorbed, a 
number of smaller lines in its particular district, in 
order to avoid competition and to> secure economy in 
operation. 

A number of local lines, occupying the territory 
northward from Lake Ontario, and stretching norther- 
ly and northwesterly toward the Georgian Bay, were 
chartered and built as separate concerns, but afterward 
became merged in one undertaking under the name of 
the "Midland Railway of Canada." 

Eventually all of these consolidated enterprises (the 
Great Western, the Northern and the Midland) disap- 
peared as separate concerns, as one by one they amalga- 
mated with the Grand Trunk, and became permanently 
incorporated in that extensive system. 

The year 1876 saw the completion of the railway 
from Halifax, Nova Scotia, and St. John, New Bruns- 
wick, to what was then the eastern extremity of the 
Grand Trunk in Canada, namely, Riviere du Loup. 
This road was intended to unite by rail the maritime 
provinces or colonies with the rest of Canada, and 
was on that account called the "Intercolonial." It 
was built and operated by the government of Canada ; 
in fact, its construction was made obligatory upon the 



RAILWAY DEVELOPMENT IN CANADA 391 

Parliament of Canada at the time of the confederation 
of the provinces, now forming the Dominion, in 1867. 
It has since been extended to Montreal. 

Of the 108 railways in the Dominion of Canada 
some are of considerable magnitude and importance, 
such as the Canadian Pacific, the Canada Southern, the 
Canada Atlantic (now part of the Grand Trunk sys- 
tem), the Canadian Northern, and the Quebec Central; 
but as their inception and construction are of compara- 
tively recent date, their history need not be specially 
commented upon. Neither need the individual smaller 
but older railways' be accorded special attention in this 
connection. 

The main line of that truly great transcontinental 
railway, the Canadian Pacific, was completed in 1887, 
and at once put a large portion of Canada's western 
wheat-producing area into connection with the seaports 
of both the Atlantic and the Pacific. It is' interesting to 
note that of all the railways which make up the several 
systems actually crossing the continent, this Canadian 
Pacific — the aggregate mileage of all the lines of which 
is 8,500 — is the only one that is' at present truly trans- 
continental. It alone, of all the number, stretches from 
ocean to ocean under one management. The so-called 
transcontinental routes in the United States, as is well 
known, cover several railways, which form, as it were, 
but links in the long chain. 

The great pioneer lines of Canada, from the early 
days down to the present time, have gone steadily 
through a process of evolution — in the matter of loca- 
tion, in the method of construction, in the manner of 



392 RAILWAY ORGANIZATION AND WORKING 

operation, as well as in the System of maintenance — by 
which they have reached the state of efficiency in which 
they are found today, not simply in regard to the terri- 
tory which obtains facilities in transportation, but in 
reference to all conditions under which these facilities 
are secured. The experience acquired by this evolu- 
tionary process has, in some instances, been bought at 
high figures; but it has been experience by which the 
lines of more modern times., and especially those of the 
present day, have largely profited — not only by the suc- 
cesses, but also by the failures. 

Rails have gone through every conceivable change in 
shape, weight, length, material, joint, and process of 
manufacture— from the crude, rule-of-thumb design 
in iron to the scientifically proportioned shape of the 
American Society of Civil Engineers' Standard, which 
is now in use on our larger railways, as well as on 
many of the smaller ones'. At first, after the intro- 
duction of steel, that material was very expensive, and 
the Grand Trunk, as a pioneer road, with little money 
after its first construction, but with plenty of ambition, 
experimented with some steel-topped rails — i. e., a top 
or head of steel formed to fit on to the iron web. But 
the head frequently cracked, and the scheme proved a 
failure through the lack of knowledge of a process by 
which a homogeneous rail could be made by welding a 
hard head to a soft body. 

As the business of the country traversed by the rail- 
ways increased, cars of greater capacity were needed, 
and they, in turn, involved the use of larger and more 
powerful motive power. It is fortunate that the engi- 



RAILWAY DEVELOPMENT IN CANADA 393 

neers and promoters of the early Canadian roads were 
liberal in their ideas' as to the dimensions and cross- 
sections of the ordinary roadbed, for up to the present 
it has been found ample in these points to meet the 
heavy weights of the present-day rolling-stock. The 
great, and ever-increasing, weight of the rolling-stock 
and the loads carried did, however, necessitate the re- 
newal, from time to time with improved design, and on 
a stronger basis, of the bridge structures. At the pres- 
ent time, on some portions of our Canadian lines, the 
fourth renewal of spans of 150 feet or thereabout, since 
the first construction fifty years ago, and due entirely 
to the greater loads passing over them, is under way. 
This is another instance of the advantages that lines 
being built today enjoy from the experience of their 
predecessors. Each time these renewals were made 
those in authority no doubt considered they had reached 
the limit. 

When the casual observer is admiring the majestic 
size, power, and symmetry of one of the largest locomo- 
tives of today, there is one feature that may never ap- 
peal to him, viz., the far-reaching effects consequent 
upon using such a machine, beyond the simple fact of 
its being able to haul the heaviest train. But these 
effects are a source of much concern to' the railway 
manager, and the question of what size of locomotives 
is the most economical in connection with the physical 
condition of the road, as well as its traffic considera- 
tions, is one which is' now forcing attention in a scien- 
tific manner upon the great railway systems. In other 
words, if a line has certain physical features, and a 



394 RAILWAY ORGANIZATION AND WORKING 

certain amount of traffic, having certain definite re- 
quirements as' to speed, etc., under what conditions 
does increase of the size of motive power cease to< be 
economical ? 

It would be a mistake if, when new power is to< be 
procured, the only thing taken into account in deter- 
mining the size of such power were the greater weight 
of train such power would haul, and the reduction of 
the cost of the ton-mile from a transportation point of 
view exclusively; that is, if the physical fitness of the 
roadbed for such greater loads were not taken into 
account, with all that such conditions might imply in 
regard to so> fitting it, as well as the cost of its future 
maintenance. Traffic in different parts of the country 
may be varied and fluctuating, and while there can be 
no doubt of the economy in the use of large power when 
the traffic is heavy and constant, it may be question- 
able when such conditions do not wholly exist. 

As' instance of this, and as illustrative of some of 
the points which the railway manager must analyze, 
there are some roads and branches of roads which have 
a traffic that fluctuates greatly. During certain por- 
tions of the year there is' all the business that the power 
can handle; at other times the trains run light. The 
character of the traffic may be such that a certain 
number of trains are required, even if the business is 
light. It will thus be seen that with the use of very 
heavy engines the cost of roadway maintenance will 
keep up, even when the traffic is light. 

Again, some of these branches were originally in- 
feriorly ballasted, and, in any case, only with such ma- 



RAILWAY DEVELOPMENT IN CANADA 395 

terial as could be obtained cheaply in the districts 
through which they passed. In reality, much of it 
could hardly be classed as ballasting material at all. 

Taking all these features into' account, these roads 
get on very well with light engines, which keep the cost 
of maintenance down to a reasonable figure; but with 
the use of the heavy power it becomes a necessity to 
ballast the track with expensive material, and to use 
heavier rails and fastenings, heavier bridge structures, 
larger turntables, and larger roundhouses. It therefore 
becomes a matter for very careful consideration 
whether, from a financial or earning standpoint, the use 
of very heavy power is not proving, on some lines, an 
expensive matter. 

Of the bridge structures in Canada which have been 
rebuilt in recent years, two at least are universally 
known — the one across the St. Lawrence at Montreal, 
and the other across the Niagara gorge below the falls. 

The predecessor of the former was the famous Vic- 
toria Tubular Bridge, erected between 1854 and 1859, 
and which at the time of its completion was classed as 
one of the wonders of the world. When it is considered 
that there were few precedents for the engineers to 
work upon in regard to important points connected 
with the construction of this' bridge, and that many 
difficulties had to> be contended with for the first time — 
such as the force of the ice breaking up in the spring, 
the extremes of temperature, the rapidity of the current 
and depth of the river — one is bound, even now, to 
acknowledge the foresight and skill of its designers and 
builders, especially in regard to the construction of the 



396 RAILWAY ORGANIZATION AND WORKING 

piers. It was a single-track structure, and the most 
sanguine of its promoters' never realized that, within 
thirty-eight years after its completion, traffic conditions 
and the demands of modern rolling-stock would make 
a. complete new bridge necessary. 

The old Tubular Bridge was designed for a rolling 
load of one ton per lineal foot. In the report made by 
the engineer at the time of its completion the following 
significant paragraph occurs: 

It is worthy of remark that it was difficult to make up a train 
weighing the enormous weight of one ton per foot run; and it 
was just as much as three large engines could do to propel it. 
Such a load surely never can pass through the bridge in the 
ordinary way of traffic. 

The present structure is a through pin truss, and was 
designed for a moving load, in either direction, on each 
O'f the two tracks, of two consolidation engines, fol- 
lowed by a uniformly distributed load of 4,000 pounds 
per lineal foot ; also for a moving load, in either direc- 
tion, on each of the vehicular roadways (which are 
formed by extensions of the enormous floor beam), of 
1,300 pounds per lineal foot. 

It may be interesting to> recall the fact that the early 
Canadian railways were originally constructed of broad 
gauge — i. e., 5 feet 6 inches — while the systems of the 
United States were mainly standard or 4 feet &y 2 
inches. It is not necessary to enter into the reasons 
advanced by the early promoters for the broad gauge ; 
suffice it to say that the difference of gauges caused a 
great deal of inconvenience to passengers to and from 
the United States, and hampered the movement of in- 



RAILWAY DEVELOPMENT IN CANADA 397 

ternational traffic, through the necessity of tranship- 
ment at frontier points. As a partial remedy, a third rail 
was laid on some parts of the lines, notably from 
Sarnia, opposite Port Huron, Mich'., to Buffalo, N. Y. ; 
from Windsor, opposite Detroit, to Suspension Bridge, 
N. Y. ; and from Montreal to Rouses Point, N. Y. ; so 
that both broad- and standard-gauge engines and cars 
could use the same tracks. 

However, in 1872 it was' resolved to change the 
whole of the Grand Trunk Railway to standard gauge. 
This was done in three sections, each section being 
changed during one season. But so complete were the 
arrangements for carrying out the work that the actual 
narrowing of the track itself caused a delay to 1 traffic 
of only a few hours on each section. In the intervals 
between the changing of these several sections, the ex- 
pedient was adopted, at the point of break of gauge, of 
lifting the bodies of passenger-cars off their broad 
trucks, and replacing them on standard ones, and vice 
versa. The trucks, also, of many of the freight-cars 
were so constructed that the wheels were adjustable to 
the two gauges. 

This method, however, frequently proved uncertain 
and insecure, and, indeed, all of the devices led to more 
or less confusion as well as accident. It was, therefore, 
a most important event when the lines and their equip- 
ment became all standard gauge. The other broad- 
gauge railways' soon followed the example of the Grand 
Trunk. The present Owen Sound Line of the Canadian 
Pacific (formerly the Toronto', Grey & Bruce Railway) 
and the Coboconk Branch of the Grand Trunk ( former- 



398 RAILWAY ORGANIZATION AND WORKING 

ly the Toronto & Nipissing Railway) were originally 
built of a gauge 3 feet 6 inches. 

Among the greatest concerns to a railway, in the 
matter of economical train service and cost of trans- 
portation, are its' limiting gradients, as well as its curva- 
ture, and in these the forethought of even the most far- 
sighted of the engineers who> located these early rail- 
ways has proved, in recent years, to have been insuf- 
ficient to cope with the economic principles of modern 
methods of transportation. This statement, however, 
is by no means intended to belittle the knowledge of the 
great masters of early railroad-building. As compared 
with the engineers of today, they had meager advan- 
tages for scientific training, and had comparatively 
scant opportunity for working from precedent. It is 
nevertheless a fact that much of what is in practice now 
in modern railroading was known in principle to these 
men. 

The greater railway systems of Canada are at present 
investing large sums of money in the revision and bet- 
tering of the physical condition of many portions of 
their lines, in regard to* both alignment and gradients. 
The amount of business, present and prospective, is 
carefully analyzed, and, after practical ideas have been 
formed in regard to future growth and expansion, 
methods of improvement are devised that will best put 
the roads in shape to handle economically and expe- 
ditiously both present and future business. The value 
of such improvements to our railways is not so much in 
what can be saved with the present business, as' in the 



RAILWAY DEVELOPMENT IN CANADA 399 

capacity afforded for economically and properly taking 
care of future traffic. 

As a typical example of such revision, the section 
of the Grand Trunk between Port Hope and Port 
Union, Ontario — a distance of forty-six miles — may 
be cited, as it is quite apparent to the eye of the ordinary 
traveler. Here, within the last three years, the limiting 
gradients have been considerably lowered, and, by 
means of certain deviations in places from the ordinary 
alignment, a large amount of curvature has been elimi- 
nated. The result is that the same motive power can 
haul over this part of the road about double the ton- 
nage that it could before. 

Double-tracking is being pushed on where necessity 
immediately demands it, and it is worthy of remark 
that by the summer of 1905 one railway system (the 
Grand Trunk) will, with the exception of the portion in 
the St. Clair tunnel, have a double track the whole way 
from Montreal to Chicago — 841 miles — and under one 
management. 

Activity in railway construction is at present being 
manifested in Canada, especially in the Northwest. 
Both the Canadian Pacific and the Canadian Northern 
are extending their systems. Besides, one new enter- 
prise of great magnitude is about to be undertaken. I 
refer to the Grand Trunk Pacific Railway — a line with 
an aggregate length of 3,500 miles that is to' connect 
the Atlantic with the Pacific. The surveys over the 
whole of the territory to be traversed by it are now 
well under way, and active work of construction will 
be commenced the coming summer [1905]. 



400 RAILWAY ORGANIZATION AND WORKING 

This railway will be built according to the most im- 
proved modern methods. In this instance the experi- 
ence of present transcontinental lines will be of help in 
guarding against conditions which, although they could 
not be called engineering errors at the time they were 
put into' effect, yet, as has been shown, have since proved 
to be insufficient to meet the requirements, of today, as 
far as the economics of railway location is concerned. 
It is seldom that there has been such a gigantic under- 
taking under one management, and it may be a long 
time, perhaps, before another such enormous single 
railway venture will be exploited. The study of the 
records of construction from time to time, with the 
many features' of engineering interest which will be 
met with, will be of inestimable value to every engineer- 
ing student, as well as of special benefit to everyone 
engaged in the administration of a railway. 

The new line will be considerably the shortest route 
from New York, Montreal, and Chicago to the Orient, 
and as a commercial and country-developing enterprise 
it will open up to< the markets vast stretches of Canada's' 
grain-producing area; for the line will pass through 
some of the most productive agricultural lands, as' well 
as some of the finest mining districts, in the world. 

It will also 1 present to us new vistas of the pic- 
turesque and awe-inspiring; for it is scarcely necessary 
to be reminded of the fact that Canada, like the United 
States, is a country of magnificent distances, and that 
it abounds with every conceivable type of physical fea- 
ture and natural attraction. Towering mountains and 
gentle slopes, majestic lakes and picturesque tiny lochs, 



RAILWAY DEVELOPMENT IN CANADA 401 

mighty rivers and limpid streams, gigantic waterfalls' 
and gurgling brooks, boundless prairies and fertile val- 
leys — nowhere else can these be found in such 
profusion. 



RAILWAY EDUCATION 1 

One of the features of the educational history of 
the past half-century has been the specialization of 
education with the object of providing a direct route, 
not only into the older professions, but also into' those 
newer arts and industries to which the economic and 
social development of modern times has given birth. 
So far as our universities are concerned, this utilitarian 
aim is, after all, in accord with their earliest policy; 
for the three great faculties of the mediaeval institution 
were law, theology, and medicine — the learned profes- 
sions par excellence. Latin, the foundation study, 
was, in all probability, rarely pursued for its own 
sake so 1 much as for the access it gave to the written 
material of the time, and for its convenience as a 
means of spoken intercourse between men of different 
mother-tongues; it was studied, in other words, for 
much the same reasons that German is studied now- 
adays. The utilitarian aspect which the higher educa- 
tion of modern days is more and more assuming has 
therefore a historic justification. Even if this had not 
been the case, there would have been every reason to 
suppose that the modern trend of higher education is 
in accord with the spirit of the times and with the 
logic of events. The daily activities of mankind have 
long since become too important to' be neglected in the 
educational world ; and it is now realized that the uni- 
versities may shape their curricula with direct reference 

x Read before the St. Louis Railway Club, January 12, 1906. 

402 



RAILWAY EDUCATION 403 

to these, and yet lose little, if any, of the mental 
development so long considered a monopoly of the 
humanistic studies. The four years devoted to pro- 
fessional preparation for medicine or for the law are 
not commonly supposed to have any particularly injuri- 
ous or warping effect upon the mind of the student; 
in fact, are conceived to be mentally stimulating and 
invigorating. Equally harmless and equally beneficial 
is the mental preparation for other practical pursuits 
of life ; in either case, the chief essential in the arrange- 
ment of the educational pabulum is that the various 
studies shall be handled in a broad and scientific way, 
compelling, on the part of the student, both analytical 
and synthetical modes of thought. Thus, in existing 
universities, we find not only the traditional schools of 
law, medicine, and theology, but also the modern 
schools of engineering, architecture, education, jour- 
nalism, commerce, and the like. In turn, the engineer- 
ing school divides out into its civil, mechanical, and 
electrical branches ; and so right along the line is to be 
seen greater and greater indication of the influence of 
the spirit of specialization, which, after all, is but a 
response to the demand that education shall adapt itself 
to the necessities of life. 

The number of persons engaged in engineering, 
in architecture, or in educational work falls far below 
the number at work in the transportation industry ; and 
yet there has been but little effort to provide technical 
training for the latter. As a part result of this, the 
railways are finding themselves today in lack of a 
sufficient number of men qualified to occupy with digni- 



404 RAILWAY ORGANIZATION AND WORKING 

ty and with success the positions of initial responsibility 
— men who know how to do the right thing at the 
right time; who show initiative and originality when 
thrown back upon their own resources; whoi possess, 
not merely physical or brute obstinacy, but especially 
that inflexible mental determination and persistency 
arising from the realization of the trained mind as to 
the relation of the individual worker to the collective 
working. It may be that careful professional training 
will be of considerable benefit to those destined to* attain 
to the seats of power in the transportation industry; I 
am inclined to think that it will. The conducting of 
modern transportation is becoming constantly more 
and more complex ; the day of happy-go-lucky, rule-of- 
thumb railroading, while not entirely gone, will soon 
be but a shadow of the past. There is no industry at 
the moment which demands keener intellect, shrewder 
wit, and better-trained comprehension; no industry in 
which the failure of these qualities in its officers and, 
to no 1 small extent, in its men would be more disastrous 
to the general interests of the country. The necessity 
for, and demand for, an adequate supply of these 
qualities is increasing with the extension of the 
industry. In sheer self-defense, even from a dividend 
point of view, the railways of this country will have 
to pay more attention than they have ever done before 
to> the improvement of the quality of the men they take 
into their employment. For their own interests, they 
must stimulate a steady flow of the brightest minds of 
each rising generation into their service, so that they 
may have ample choice of selection in filling up the 



RAILWAY EDUCATION 405 

lieutenancies and corporalships, some of those 
appointed to which, in turn, will qualify for responsi- 
bility as captains and colonels, and, maybe, even as 
generals of the railway army. There are all varieties 
of transportation problems; but, without doubt, the 
most difficult one of all is that of securing competent 
and trustworthy service. 

Let us now address ourselves to' the consideration of 
a remedy for the situation. It seems to me that two 
kinds of work need to be carried on; the first and the 
one of primary importance being the development of 
facilities for technical training in transportation, grant- 
ing to the various studies included in the same all the 
dignity of university teaching, and making the trans- 
portation school as direct and natural an opening into 
transportation as the medical and law schools into 
medicine and law. The second is the more systematic 
provision of technical education for the men already in 
the service, the great majority of whom, for many 
years to come, must necessarily be without the initial 
training referred to in the earlier part of this para- 
graph. Much may be said in praise of the work accom- 
plished for employees through the railway clubs and 
the educational branches of the Railroad Young Men's 
Christian Association, and in other ways; but more 
needs to be done, with greater system, and with more 
pronounced educational results. 

I shall give first attention to the former of these two 
varieties of work. 

In connection with this, my proposal is that the rail- 
ways should directly encourage the extension of trans- 



4o6 RAILWAY ORGANIZATION AND WORKING 

portat ion-teach ing at all of the larger universities. Even 
in our engineering schools the attention given to the 
special equipment of the civil and mechanical engineer 
intending to enter railroad work has been but limited, 
and, so far as the commercial and operating sides of 
railroading have been concerned, their portion has been 
utter neglect. The courses in railway transportation, 
offered by so many of the universities, have been mere 
academic exercises, frequently taught by men without 
any living interest in, or understanding of, the railway 
organism, in no* way affording the requisite technical 
preparation for a railway career. Such places as New 
York, St. Louis, San Francisco, New Orleans, and 
many other university towns ought to have their own 
schemes; but the development should be greater in 
Chicago than elsewhere, on account of the unique 
facilities it affords as the foremost railway center of 
the country. 

The railway companies, as a first and great step, 
should co-operate in founding in that city a Railway 
College. The task of establishing the College should 
not be left to the railways centering on Chicago. The 
companies of the North, East, South, and West will 
secure no less benefit from the realization of the project 
than the first-named. I believe that the College should 
be placed in academic relation with the University of 
Chicago, or, if practicable, with all the universities 
specially interested in the teaching of transportation, 
because the broadening influence of such association 
would be a good thing to have environing its students. 
A mind running in narrow grooves is the worst posses- 



RAILWAY EDUCATION 407 

sion a practical man can have, for it prevents him from 
appreciating the scope of his own duties. 

One distinctive feature of this College should be the 
arrangement of the work of its members. The stu- 
dents should follow their classes from the beginning of 
October until the middle of June, and from that time 
until the middle of September should be placed out on 
the railroads, at a small salary, to learn the practical 
details of the business. They could be used to fill in 
the odd vacancies which occur during every part of 
the year, and, even if they did not accomplish much, 
they would probably earn the small salary assigned. 
The combination in each year of college life of the 
theory of the class with the practice of the road would 
be beneficial, both mentally and morally, to the student. 
Any inclination to the "swelled head," acquired in the 
classroom, would be knocked out of him most effectu- 
ally by his associates in employment. During the 
whole period of the three months he would be required 
to submit weekly reports as to the work he was doing, 
with descriptions of, and observations upon, the same. 

Admission to the College should be granted only 
to youths who have already proved the possession of a 
certain amount of ability and perseverance by gradu- 
ating from the four-year course of a high school. 
Nowadays, with the spread of educational facilities, 
there is no reason why this requirement should not be 
enforced. I know of at least one town with barely 
fifteen hundred population that posssesses a high school 
offering as strong a four-year course as many places of 
twenty times the population. In the high school is, or 



408 RAILWAY ORGANIZATION AND WORKING 

should be, laid the foundation of a broad culture, upon 
which the superstructure of railway technology could 
be raised with confidence. Though not necessary in 
some branches of the service, it might yet be advisable 
to add to the educational admission requirements a 
physical test, which should cover eyesight, hearing, and 
general condition. Through these requirements there 
would be some assurance of obtaining the sound mind 
in a sound body, so essential to the production of the 
highest results. 

The courses of the Railway College should provide 
training on five different sides — mechanical engineer- 
ing, civil engineering, electrical engineering, commer- 
cial, and operating; all with distinct reference, of 
course, to railroad work. To> effect this, the College 
should be in close touch with the Engineering Depart- 
ment of the University, so that courses common to 
railroad and general engineering should not need to be 
handled in the Railway College, only those courses 
coming under its direct charge which bear a distinctly 
railroad aspect; for instance, railway construction, 
maintenance of way, locomotive construction, locomo- 
tive tests, and so forth. The independent establish- 
ment of a railway college would necessitate the pro- 
vision of an entire engineering equipment, and this 
enormous expense would be largely saved by the co- 
operation suggested. The students of the engineering 
side of the Railway College would not only obtain a 
more comprehensive preparation for this special work 
of their future employment than would be given in any 
ordinary school of engineering, but they would also 



RAILWAY EDUCATION 409 

secure a knowledge of general railway organization 
and operation through the non-engineering courses, a 
certain number of these being included in their cur- 
ricula, which would enable the novice railroad 
engineers to understand better than they often do, 
under the present systems of training, the relationships 
of their respective departments to the general work 
of the railway. The mechanical man would have some 
knowledge of track — a necessity, not an accomplish- 
ment, in these days, when the problem of high speed 
and weight of motive power and car equipment is so 
interlinked with that of track capacity; he would have 
some knowledge of accounting — sufficient, at any rate, 
to realize the relation borne by the expenses of his 
department to those of the whole railway; a thorough 
understanding of the working necessities of the operat- 
ing department would form part of his mental equip- 
ment; and many other matters that, aside from his 
work though they may appear to be, would neverthe- 
less be of real advantage to him in the performance of 
his daily duties. 

It has also been suggested that it would be an 
advantage if railway students, not specializing in 
engineering, were required to take a certain amount 
of work in this branch. In fact, the Canadian railways, 
in the Transportation Department which they have 
provided at McGill University, Montreal, have 
arranged for something of this kind to be done. Per- 
sonally I am inclined to agree in part with this policy, 
provided it be carried out in moderation, because (1) 
the training may be of practical value to the future 



41 o RAILWAY ORGANIZATION AND WORKING 

railroad man, and (2) it insures that each student 
shall have the benefit of the accurate and scientific 
training arising out of the study of engineering and 
correlated subjects. 

To turn now to the subjects of the curriculum — 
and, in doing so, by reason of the limits of my paper, 
I shall confine my attention chiefly to< the railway 
subjects proper. What railway subjects should be 
taught in the suggested College? The following tech- 
nical courses could be given, and should be : Railway 
Construction, Maintenance of Way, Economic Theory 
of Railway Location, Railway Terminals, Plans and 
Specifications of Railway Structures of all kinds, Rail- 
way Accounting, Station Returns, Construction and 
Use of Railway Statistics, Organization, Handling of 
Traffic — Freight and Passengers, Signaling and 
Train Service, Motive Power Equipment, Car Equip- 
ment, Rate-Making, Government Control of Railways, 
Passenger Department, Freight Department, Railway 
Finance, Telegraphy, Corporation Law in its Relation 
to Railways, Railway Liabilities, Law of Carriers. 

The names of the subjects will largely indicate to 
railway men what would be the work of the classes 
held therein. For instance, the "Handling of Traffic" 
course, on its freight side, would deal with the methods 
of disposing of freight in the out- and in-freight houses 
and at transfer stations, the work of the yards, way- 
building and expensing, supervision of fast freight, 
car service, per diem, and so forth; in each section of 
the work starting with a general type, then proceeding 
to description of other methods in use both in this 



RAILWAY EDUCATION 411 

country and abroad, and finally winding up with such 
critical work as may be desirable. Accompanying the 
classroom work would be the actual observation of 
working methods on railways at points within reach of 
class visits. 

Under the head o>f "Freight Department" would be 
handled the organization of the department, duties of 
officers, solicitation of freight, the industrial agent or 
commissioner, freight claims, clearing systems, and so 
forth; the whole course giving a compact survey of 
the actual work of the department, with due regard to 
differences of organization, policy, and methods. 
Classification and rates, it may be added, would be 
handled in the course on Rate-Making. 

In a similarly practical manner each of the other 
railway subjects would be treated, and, in the hands 
of competent professional instructors, would both 
inform and train the minds of the students. 

Associated with these railway subjects would be the 
more general ones of Mathematics, Surveying, Me- 
chanical Drawing, Shop Work, Chemistry, Physics, 
Economics, and English in all full courses, leading to 
the degree of "Bachelor of Science in Transportation." 
Students specializing in one branch or other of rail- 
way engineering would not be able to take all of the 
subjects named in the preceding paragraphs, but such 
selection would be made as seemed practicable and 
desirable. 

Throughout the whole four years every effort would 
be made to exclude the incompetent and the idle. What 
would be the position at the end of the fourth and 



412 RAILWAY ORGANIZATION AND WORKING 

succeeding years from the foundation of the College? 
Each year there would be issuing from the College, 
at the service of the railways, a picked body of young 
men, sound in body and in mind, not lacking in either 
culture or practical knowledge directly in line with 
their future work — young men possessing already, by 
reason of several summer seasons of actual railroading, 
a useful acquaintance with their future duties; men 
capable of thinking and working; men ready to bring 
to their duties the accuracy and swiftness of scientific 
methods, and the discretion and wisdom of the 
accumulated experience of railroaders of past and pres- 
ent, of both East and West. 

My remarks have so far referred to students of the 
Railway College able to put in the regular four-year 
undergraduate period. Though it is to be hoped that 
these would form by far the largest constituency of the 
College, there are others to 1 be provided for, who possess 
equal mental qualifications, but, for various reasons, 
must limit their education to one or two' years from the 
date of graduation at high school. For these the 
College should present a special arrangement of 
courses, emphasizing the railroad subjects, and yet 
giving general training, so that a youth compelled to 
leave at the end of one or two years' work would be 
competent to' discharge with success the duties of, say, 
a station agent — a branch of the service in which the 
railways are particularly weak at present — or of any 
other suitable position. There are a great many young 
men drifting into< the mind-restraining curricula of the 
shorthand and business school who, with the oppor- 



RAILWAY EDUCATION 413 

tunity of a much more broadening kind of education 
before them, offering a direct opening into the branches 
of a profession where men, and not machines, are the 
great need, would be glad to' take a one- or two-year 
course in the suggested College. If there were asso- 
ciated with the College a department of correspondence 
tuition, these short-course men would continue their 
technical education after they had entered the service, 
with advantage to themselves and profit to their em- 
ploying companies. The ambitious boy, with plenty 
of determination, but little money in his pocket, could 
probably find many opportunities of temporary employ- 
ment — the close relationship existing between the insti- 
tution and the railways would doubtless secure not a 
few advantages for such students. 

The Railway College, financed by the railways, 
would place at the disposal of the roads a number of 
scholarships. It is not difficult to see how the companies 
might well use these scholarships as one factor in 
cementing to' their service the loyalty of the better class 
of their employees. Such scholarships could be offered 
in open competition to' the sons of employees fulfilling 
the necessary educational and physical requirements 
for admission. 

The companies would benefit by the leavening 
influence exerted by the steady influx of able and 
broad-minded young men, whose training would enable 
them to see far above and beyond the petty aims and 
strifes of unregulated unionism, and who would 
become natural leaders of thought among their asso- 
ciates. Their influence would strengthen good disci- 



414 RAILWAY ORGANIZATION AND WORKING 

pline, encourage amiable relations between men and 
officers, because there would be a better understanding 
of one another's duties and responsibilities. The work 
of the school would have a direct bearing upon the 
labor problem, as it faces the railway companies today. 

A further thought presents itself — namely, that the 
specialized education of the Railway College would 
induce in the mind of the future railway man a greater 
appreciation of his work, a stronger desire to' remain 
in an employment in which his training would be more 
likely to bring ultimate success than in any other. The 
greater reliance with which railway officials could 
depend upon the service of the members of their vari- 
ous departments would be entirely beneficial to the 
companies. To some railway men, particularly un- 
fortunate in the unsettled temperament of their 
subordinates, the change would seem almost Utopian. 

Leaving this attractive picture, allow me to recall 
to your memory the second kind of work which needs 
to be carried on under the head of railway-training — 
namely, as previously stated, the more systematic 
provision of technical education for the men already in 
the service. 

The organization of this side of railway education 
must fall under three heads: (a) evening schools, (b) 
correspondence tuition, and (c) traveling teachers. 

Our evening railway classes at Chicago', which are 
now in their second year, have had considerable success. 
A number of railways with interests in that city have 
met the expenses between them, sending, in return, 
employees toi the school on free scholarships. Our 



RAILWAY EDUCATION 415 

initial difficulties lie to a considerable extent in getting 
hold of the right kind of material. A considerable 
portion of the men sent to us reveal no* sign of any 
real desire to better themselves by hard work. Lacking 
in energy, determination, and foresight, they are soon 
found among the backsliders. This class of men we 
do not want; they are not the kind out of which real 
"railroad" men are to be made — though, no doubt, 
they ape the title. As experience lends wisdom to the 
administration of the work, we are hoping to be able 
to devise some method of selection which w T ill enable 
the companies to fill up the classes with workers and 
"stickers." Of course, the conditions to which railway 
employees are subject render regular attendance at 
evening classes, with the due performance of home 
work in connection therewith, a task of difficulty 
and demanding great perseverance. The company's 
service, sickness, or other unavoidable cause may com- 
pel a man's absence for two or three nights. He loses 
the connection, his back work has accumulated consider- 
ably, and, unless he is gritty, he is apt to become dis- 
couraged. But it is the gritty men we want to train, 
and not the weak-backed ones ; so that, if out of every 
two or three men sent us, under present conditions, w r e 
discover one "worth while," the result is encouraging. 
Our school affords also a temporary abiding-place for 
another type of man, not without grit or brain capacity, 
but yet an unreliable student. I refer to the man who 
measures his education on a strictly cash basis — poorly 
calculated at that; he does not want to waste his 
valuable time over any of the broader problems of 



416 RAILWAY ORGANIZATION AND WORKING 

railway management and policy,, is indifferent to the 
manner in which the company's business is carried on 
outside of his own immediate work ; with a metaphori- 
cal pistol at your head, he (i. e., his attitude, not his 
words) demands that you prove ten him the possession 
of goods that can be transferred to him in the mini- 
mum time and at the maximum advantage of dol- 
lars per month to himself. He can see ten dollars 
per month increase in salary at the end of three months 
with a very appreciative eye, but is absolutely blind to 
a hundred dollars per month increase three years hence. 
Here is a man that wilfully narrows his capacity, and, 
until something happens to reveal to> himself what a 
fool he is, neither school nor company can hope to do 
anything with him. 

In conducting the evening classes, our plan has been 
so far to> compel every man in his first year to> take simi- 
lar work — traffic man, accounting man, operating man. 
motive-power man, roadway man, all alike have had 
tot pass through the same course, which gives a general 
survey o>f the more important features of the whole 
organization, work, and policy of the railways. The 
following is the syllabus of the class as described in 
one of our circulars : 

General Relations and Organisation. — Organization : varying 
types with explanation of the same; work of the different depart- 
ments ; duties of officers in each department ; nature of work 
and responsibility. The relationship of railway corporations to 
labor, particularly in its organized form. Railroads and govern- 
ment control ; tendencies manifested in the policies of various 
states as to powers conferred upon local commissions ; experi- 
ences of other countries. Railway taxation. 



RAILWAY EDUCATION 417 

Passenger Service. — Essentials of the service ; passenger rates 
and facilities of various countries compared with those of the 
United States ; passenger associations. The securing of business ; 
advertising methods; passage tickets, varieties and use; ticket- 
scalping ; returns of agents and conductors. Baggage systems ; 
express service; railway mail service. Problems attaching to the 
dining-car service, sleeping-car service, suburban and branch-line 
traffic. 

Freight Service. — The in- and out-freight houses ; loading 
and unloading ; "through" and "way" cars ; C. L. and L. C. L. 
traffic; cost of handling; use of mechanical aids; transfer houses 
and their relation to economical train-loading. Classification 
yards. The billing of freight; record of freight from consignor 
to consignee; shipper's receipt; bill of lading; way bills, local 
and interline; freight billi monthly abstracts and summaries, etc. 
Supervision of fast freight. Freight claims : origin, treatment, 
and avoidance. Per diem rules : car service associations ; private 
cars. Freight classification; freight associations and the making 
of rates. Special traffic. Clearing-house system. 

Accounting, Statistics, and Rates. — General methods of 
accounting ; daily and monthly returns ; auditing of freight and 
passenger returns ; classification and apportionment of operating 
expenses. Ton-mile figures; analysis of railroad reports; statis- 
tics, methods of collecting and utility ; graphic records ; statistical 
reports of Interstate Commerce Commission. Rates : theoretical 
and actual bases of rates; equal-mileage and cost-of-service 
theories ; the development of rates ; group rates ; through and 
local rates ; "what the traffic will bear," the basis of rate-making, 
its meaning; use of arbitraries and differentials; comparison of 
rates ; who shall fix the rate ? the question of federal and state 
regulation of rates. 

Track. — Location and construction ; embankments, cuts, 
bridges, and tunnels; ballasting; gauge; ties; tie preservation; 
concrete and metal ties. Rails : standard varieties ; chairs, spikes, 
and bolts; fish plates; tie plates; supported and suspended joints; 
broken joints; superelevation; renewal of rails. Stub and split 



41 8 RAILWAY ORGANIZATION AND WORKING 

switches ; frogs ; switch stands ; interlocking switches ; double- 
tracking, advantages and cost; maintenance-of-way staff. 

The Locomotive. — Earlier types of steam locomotives and 
subsequent development; varieties of modern locomotives; their 
uses ; parts of a locomotive ; the cylinders ; simple and compound 
locomotives ; comparative efficiency of the compound ; convertible 
compounds ; the cross compound, four-cylinder compound, tandem 
compound, balanced compound; the air-brake; various locomotive 
appliances. 

Electric Traction. — Application of electricity to railroads; 
trolley, conduit, and third-rail systems of power transmissions ; 
the electric locomotive; general considerations. 

Car Equipment. — Attention will be given to the development 
of various types of cars in passenger and freight service, 
increase in size, and capacity; steel cars. The heating, lighting, 
and ventilation of cars. 

Terminal Facilities. — Description of important passenger and 
freight terminals ; transhipping houses ; roundhouses ; car-repair 
shops; sorting-yards; water-tanks; coal-supply stations, etc. 

Signaling and Train-Working. — Old methods of train-signal- 
ing; transition to mechanical signaling; interlocking and signal- 
ing apparatus ; power-working of switches and semaphores ; block 
system ; telegraphic staff, controlled manual, automatic ; the 
merits and limits of the block system. The work of the train 
dispatcher; the rules of train-working. 

Of course, the treatment of each subject has to be 
more or less brief, but we have arranged our syllabus 
so that upon this class a number of more specialized 
courses can be built. However, it is probable that 
after the current year our evening syllabus will be 
modified by dividing up this general course into its 
component parts, and treating both the elementary and 
more advanced stages of each part in one continuous 



RAILWAY EDUCATION 419 

class. 2 This will probably induce the men who are not 
willing to devote their time to the study of departments 
of the road other than their own, to put in solid work 
with the classes; and we are hoping that a year's experi- 
ence in classes relating to< their particular departments 
will have so broadened them, and have so whet their 
appetites for more, that they will desire to enter classes 
dealing with other parts of the railway organization. 
At least, if this does not happen, the conclusion will 
then have to be reached that such persons are educa- 
tionally incorrigible. Under the new plan, if put into 
effect, the following would be our scheme of courses 
for the academic year beginning October 1, 1906 : 

1. The Passenger Department — Two hours (one evening) 
weekly, nine months. 

2. The Freight Department — Two hours (one evening) weekly, 
nine months. 

3. The Accounting Department — Two hours (one evening) 
weekly, nine months. 

4. The Operating Department, I (Handling of Freight and 
Passengers) — Two hours (one evening) weekly, nine months. 

5. The Operating Department, II (Signaling and Train Service) 
— Two hours (one evening) weekly, nine months. 

6. The Mechanical Department — Two hours (one evening) 
weekly, nine months. 

7. The Engineering Department — Two hours (one evening) 
weekly, nine months. 

8. Theory of Railway Location (not open to elementary stu- 
dents) — Two hours (one evening) weekly, nine months. 

9. Terminal Facilities (not open to elementary students) — 
Two hours (one evening) weekly, six months. 

2 A general course, much more elementary in character, will form part 
of the curriculum, however. It will cater to the needs of young men 
just entering the service. 



420 RAILWAY ORGANIZATION AND WORKING 

10. Railway Law (Law of Carriage) — Two hours (one evening) 

weekly, three months. 
ii. Corporation Law — Two hours (one evening) weekly, three 

months. 

12. Railway Finance (not open to elementary students) — Two 
hours (one evening) weekly, three months. 

13. Rate Regulation and Government Control (not open to ele- 

mentary students) — Two hours (one evening) weekly, three 
months. 

14. Railway Statistics — Two hours (one evening) weekly, three 
months. 

15. Railway Labor — Two hours (one evening) weekly, three 
months. 

16. Railway Conditions (an elementary outline of the whole 
railway organization) — Two hours (one evening) weekly, 
nine months. 

In time it is quite likely that there will be added to 
these more general classes a number of special courses 
treating, in much detail, certain portions of the former. 
Students will be assisted in the arrangement of their 
courses, so that they may obtain the greatest advan- 
tage from their attendance. In some cases a man 
would be well advised to attempt but one class at a 
time, and in hardly any case could more than two 
classes be carried. The value of each course depends 
largely upon the amount of outside reading, written 
reports, and so forth, performed in connection with it, 
and one evening's class work would usually demand 
two evenings' individual study. It will be noticed that 
the work is, to all intents and purposes, purely tech- 
nical ; but facilities are in existence with us at Chicago 
by which railway students can register in University 
evening courses in English, French, German, political 



RAILWAY EDUCATION 421 

economy, political science, history, mathematics, geol- 
ogy, and so on. 

Another side of the Chicago railway-education 
scheme, so far as it affects present employees, is that of 
correspondence tuition — a department which will prob- 
ably open next October. This will give the oppor- 
tunity of the higher training in railway transportation 
to the young man located, it may be, a hundred miles 
from "anywhere," and so improve the chance of bet- 
tering his position. It is the intention to' reproduce 
some or all of the courses previously named as closely 
as possible in this correspondence department. The 
sentimental and material advantages to the correspond- 
ence student of membership in and work with a uni- 
versity of international standing are obvious. 

At certain points, where classes of forty or fifty em- 
ployees can be formed, we are hoping to be able to 
handle some of the courses by the direct instruction of 
a traveling lecturer. Such a lecturer would have 
several centers established within accessible distance of 
one another, and would hold "school" at each one even- 
ing a week during, say, six months of the year. He 
would thus be able to handle ten or twelve centers 
during the year. With half a dozen energetic and 
capable young men, of trained ability and with special- 
ized knowledge o<f their subjects, a wide field could be 
effectively covered in this way. 

In addition to this work of instruction, the Railway 
College should become a world-famous center of re- 
search work. As its testing-plants, appliances, and 
libraries develop, its faculty and advanced students, in 



422 RAILWAY ORGANIZATION AND WORKING 

association with practical railway men, could be con- 
stantly devoting attention to> the consideration of the 
improvement of railway facilities in all departments. I 
should like to* see its libraries associated with a bureau 
of information, which should collect, classify, and make 
readily accessible the results of the investigations of 
all countries and all investigators on railway subjects. 
Thus, if a railway wished to have at its disposal a 
complete record of past and present experiments and 
experiences of other railways in the matter of treated 
ties, it would be able to have drawn up for it by the 
bureau a succinct account of the same, or could send 
its representative to the bureau to investigate on the 
spot, with the help of the officers of the bureau and of 
the College specialists in that field. Or, if a railway 
wished to> review the methods of handling L. C. L. 
freight in various parts of the country or abroad, 
similar facilities would be at its disposal; and so* on. 
The value of the bureau, as administered by a scientific 
college in this way, and situated in the most accessible 
city in America., would be immense. 

I should like to> say much more in explanation 
of the undertaking which the railways centering on 
Chicago and the University of Chicago are endeavor- 
ing to carry out. There are some difficulties in the 
way. The least serious one is that of finance. The 
work proposed to be done is so entirely in the interests 
of the railway companies, and will contribute so much 
to< their more economical working, that there can be 
little doubt of their willingness to extend their financial 
aid to whatever amount is necessary. The an- 



RAILWAY EDUCATION 423 

nual income required is not really very large — 
probably never exceeding $100,000 per annum. At 
present but a fourth of that income is neces- 
sary. In fact, it should not be a difficult task 
within the next five years to secure a permanent 
endowment for the institution and its work that would 
provide adequate buildings and equipment, as well as 
a sufficient annual income for current expenses, thus 
relieving the companies from annual contributions. 
But even if the latter were to continue, the co-operation 
of twenty-five to thirty roads would reduce the quota 
of each to the insignificant sum of $3,000 to $4,000 a 
year. With hundreds of trained men graduating each 
year from the College; with thousands of railway em- 
ployees enjoying the benefits through evening classes, 
divisional schools, and correspondence tuition; with 
the further advantages available in the Bureau of In- 
formation and in the experiment of its various plants, 
each road could depend upon getting good value for its 
money, even if its individual appropriation were twenty 
times as much. 

A difficulty of more importance than the financial 
one, though still but temporary, is that of securing 
suitable instructors. We need men of the highest and 
broadest mental training, keen in investigation, sympa- 
thetic in teaching — men who 1 possess the most desirable 
academic qualities and qualifications, and at the same 
time have the practical instinct. We see no other op- 
portunity but to train our own instructors, and this we 
are proposing to' do- by taking able university graduates 
of suitable preparation, placing them for twelve 



424 RAILWAY ORGANIZATION AND WORKING 

months or so on the road — a month here, three months 
there, and so on — engaging in the practical side of the 
subjects in which they are specializing, studying the 
different methods in use and their relative values, con- 
sulting with, and being advised by, railway men of all 
grades and all opinions. Furthermore, not only will 
they do this before engaging in teaching, but, as in- 
structors of the College, they will be expected to keep 
in touch with movements, in their respective depart- 
ments, on the railways, making investigation trips on 
all possible occasions. It has been suggested that the 
Railway College should be largely staffed by railroad 
men. Where suitable men of actual road or office ex- 
perience, efficient teachers and capable oif real research 
work — in short, likely to do credit to' the College — 
could be obtained, such could be maa'e good use of. 
But the ex- railway man who has "resigned" because of 
incapacity we do not want; the ex- railway man who 
has been worked out we do not want; the ex-railway 
man who is looking for a kind of a retiring allowance in 
the shape of a nice easy job we do not want. The rail- 
way man of trained mind, high capacity, and wide 
experience, possessing undoubted powers of discipline 
and exposition, associated with a strong personality, we 
do want; but we could not get him, for the railways 
need this type of man for their own service, and are 
able to pay him anywhere from three to ten times as 
much salary as we could give him. A careful study of 
the question has convinced me that the policy of training 
our own instructors, securing them before they have 
the opportunity of making high salaries — men who 



RAILWAY EDUCATION 425 

combine the practical instinct with power of exposition, 
who possess love for research and are disposed toward 
teaching — is not merely the only feasible plan, but, 
except in special instances, the most desirable one. 



APPENDIX 



APPENDIX 

The following papers are a few of the ones worked 
by students of the University of Chicago railway classes 
during the session of 1905-6. They are descriptive of 
certain points connected with the freight service, and 
will be found to present much interesting information. 
The papers were prepared in the order they appear, by 
L. B. Burford, W. R. Owen, W. Haywood, M. H. Mc- 
Ewen, R. H Carleton, and A. G. Beaman, respectively. 
They are reproduced in the form in which they were 
orignially submitted to the instructor. 



THE DIFFERENTIATION OF DUTIES OF THE 
OFFICIALS OF THE FREIGHT TRAFFIC 
DEPARTMENT 

The duties of the officers of the Freight Traffic De- 
partment are so closely allied that one cannot entirely 
differentiate them — that is to say, pick out certain duties 
belonging to one officer alone and not to others. This 
for the reason that the chief duties of all freight traffic 
officials are practically all directed toward the same end 
— the solicitation and maintenance of traffic. The greatest 
differences lie in extent of authority and in detail work. 
From the Vice-President in charge of traffic downward, 
the jurisdiction and duties of the various officials become, 
as they get lower, more restricted and more detailed. 

The duties of the Vice-President and General Traffic 
Manager (on some roads these two offices are held by 
separate individuals) are general as well as political in 

429 



430 RAILWAY ORGANIZATION AND WORKING 

nature. Details are reduced to a minimum. His chief 
duty is the direction of the business policy of the road 
as determined by existing commercial conditions. He 
keeps a strict supervision of such conditions along the 
road, as well as away from it, in other parts of the country 
and abroad — conditions which, if not directly influencing 
the company's business, are likely to affect it. He is 
responsible to the President for the maintenance of the 
company's business at a healthy level, and if there are 
any adverse conditions working against its interest, it is 
his duty to find, and to recommend or apply, the remedy. 
He passes on exceptional conditions which may arise — 
conditions contrary to, or not within, the established 
lines laid down for the guidance of his subordinates. He 
maintains general supervision of rates, local and interline, 
freight and passenger, as well as percentage allowances 
of the same to the roads affected. He also passes on 
claims along policy lines, authorizes issuance of passes, 
and, in aggravated cases, even handles tracers. His de- 
cision and instructions are carried out directly by the 
Assistant General Traffic Manager, who takes care of the 
necessary details, and whose position, as his title indicates, 
is in the nature of a general assistant to the Vice-Presi- 
dent. 

The Freight Traffic Manager is the official directly 
in charge of the Freight Department. His authority ex- 
tends over the entire road and it is his duty to carry into 
effect the general policy and general rules governing the 
Freight Department. He must keep in touch with com- 
mercial interests along the road and conditions affecting 
the same, and must endeavor to maintain cordial rela- 
tions with other roads as well as with large shipping in- 
terests. He establishes the interline rate basis with other 



APPENDIX 431 

roads and percentage allowances on the same. It is part 
of his duty to pass on policy claims and others of excep- 
tional nature, not sufficiently important to require per- 
sonal attention by the Vice-President. He also handles 
tracers in aggravated cases. His recommendation or de- 
cision on traffic questions in general is necessary. He 
reports to the Vice-President through the Assistant Gen- 
eral Traffic Manager or directly. 

The General Freight Agent is, in the opinion of the 
writer, the pivotal official of the Freight Department, be- 
cause he is the officer most directly concerned with the 
actual workings of the department. He is directly 
responsible for the proper execution of orders, and his 
authority or recommendation is required on all freight- 
traffic questions affecting the part of the road under his 
jurisdiction. There may be one or two of these officials 
on a road. The division of duties in the latter case will 
be, of course, a territorial one. Each has entire charge 
of solicitation and maintenance of traffic in his territory; 
makes or cancels rates, local and interline, to and from 
points in his territory ; passes on overcharge claims, also 
on most loss and damage claims, and his recommendation 
is generally required too on policy claims. He publishes 
rate tariffs, circulars, special notices, etc., quotes rates, 
and handles tracers, refused and unclaimed freight, and 
the routing of unconsigned freight. He reports to the 
Freight Traffic Manager. 

He has as assistants, in the solicitation and mainte- 
nance of traffic, the following regular officers : Assistant 
General Freight Agents, Division Freight Agents, Gen- 
eral Agents, Commercial Agents, and Traveling Agents, 
generally located at important commercial centers or cov- 
ering territory with large shipping interests, the business 



43 2 RAILWAY ORGANIZATION AND WORKING 

of which is competitive with other lines. Their duties 
are purely local to the territory they cover and are chiefly 
exercised in securing traffic. He has also especially ap- 
pointed officers made necessary by conditions of especial 
importance peculiar to certain localities. For example, 
the Erie Railroad has an Assistant General Freight Agent 
in charge of coal and coke traffic, whose duties are en- 
tirely in connection with these two commodities. The Lake 
Shore & Michigan Southern has a General Ore and Coal 
Agent, handling the immense amount of coal shipped 
west over its lines, and the vast ore shipments east from 
the Northwest to the iron- and steel-manufacturing points 
in Pennsylvania and Ohio. The Pennsylvania Railroad 
has a General Coal Freight Agent, handling the same 
business ; and other roads, tapping the large coal fields, 
have similar officers. 

Railroads having terminals at seaboard points have 
Foreign Freight Agents there to take care of their foreign 
trade, whose duty it is to keep in touch with trade situa- 
tions in foreign countries, and with ocean freight rates, 
and to facilitate the transfer of freight at seaboard. 
These officers report to the General Freight Agent. There 
are many other officers of equal importance, appointed 
by the railroads especially to take care of some traffic or 
district of especial importance to them, but the examples 
mentioned serve to illustrate the extensive authority of 
the General Freight Agent. 

In conclusion, it may be added that the Erie Railroad 
has been taken as the basis of this paper, and that there 
are undoubtedly points mentioned which are at variance 
with conditions on other roads. 



APPENDIX 433 

RETURNS FROM LOCAL FREIGHT STATIONS 

The returns from a local freight station may well be 
divided into two classes — regular and irregular. The 
regular reports cover such transactions at the station as 
are strictly in accordance with the company's rules and 
regulations, and are necessary for the proper accounting 
of earnings ; the irregular reports cover such special con- 
ditions or happenings as are not anticipated in the general 
rules, and which have or are likely to have a bearing on 
the business of the company. Under this head of irregu- 
lar returns might also be placed those reports which are 
only too regular in the frequency with which they occur, 
but which would not be necessary under ideal conditions. 
I refer to "bad order" reports and the like. 

REGULAR REPORTS 

To the General Auditor. — Agents are required to bal- 
ance their cash-books which show all cash transactions 
of their respective stations, and to send cash not needed 
to make change to the Treasurer daily. These remit- 
tances are reported to the General Auditor for the credit 
of the stations from which they are received. 

The station accounts are balanced weekly, and a bal- 
ance-sheet, together with a detailed statement of all 
amounts taken into the week's account under the head of 
"storage, switching, etc.," is sent to the General Auditor. 
Any corrections which the agent has found it necessary to 
make in his accounts must be shown on the balance- 
sheets, so that only the net balance chargeable to the 
station will show in the totals. A monthly balance-sheet 
and statement of "storage, switching, etc.," is also sent 
to the General Auditor. "Storage, switching, etc.," in- 
cludes switching, storage, car service, icing charges, rents, 



434 RAILWAY ORGANIZATION AND WORKING 

and other miscellaneous charges remitted to the Treas- 
urer for credit to the station. 

When an agent is duly authorized, on account of 
freights having been overcharged, taken for company 
use, etc., to make delivery upon collection of less than 
the full amount carried in his accounts against it, the bal- 
ance must be carried on the balance-sheets as "awaiting 
voucher," and a statement made on the back of the 
balance-sheet showing from whom, for what amounts, 
and for what accounts vouchers are so claimed. 

Such part of the balance against an agent as is uncol- 
lected because freight is short or on hand is carried on the 
balance-sheets as "uncollected bills for charges on 
freight," and details of this amount are shown on the 
back of the balance-sheet. 

Freight to be transported for the United States govern- 
ment is not accepted unless accompanied by original and 
duplicate bills of lading issued by the government ; and as 
collection of charges on this freight is generally made 
through the office of the General Auditor instead of at 
destination, the bills of lading are handled with the same 
care as so much cash. The duplicate bill of lading must 
be surrendered to the government consignor, and the 
original sent by express to the receiving agent, who, upon 
delivery of the goods, sends to the General Auditor the 
receipted expense bills, bills of lading, and a recapitula- 
tion showing the amount of charges on each, the total 
of all, and the date of balance-sheet upon which he will 
take credit. These receipted expense bills are received 
by the General Auditor in lieu of remittances in favor of 
the credit of the station delivering the goods. 

To the Freight Auditor. — The first rule to agents, in 
regard to their returns to the Freight Auditor, usually 
reads : "Under no circumstances must an agent forward 



APPENDIX 435 

freight of any kind without making out and reporting to 
the Freight Auditor a regular waybill covering it." The 
waybill constitutes the most important return to the 
Freight Auditor, and nearly all reports made to him are 
based upon it. 

Copies of all waybills, both local and interline, are 
sent daily to the Freight Auditor by the billing agent, 
and the receiving agent sends to the same official all 
original waybills on hand at his station which have been 
checked and found to be correct. The original waybill is 
invaluable to the Auditor of Freight Accounts, as these 
documents form a veritable history of the shipments 
which they cover during the time of transportation, and 
by examination of the bill the Auditor can tell whether 
or not the company has performed its duty to the ship- 
ment and received its rightful compensation for the 
service. 

When baggage is carried on freight trains, it moves 
on a freight waybill, the regular free allowance being 
made in the weight and the balance charged for at the 
rates shown in the baggage tariff. If the charges are paid 
in cash either at the billing or at the receiving station, 
notation to that effect is made on the waybill ; but if paid 
by excess-baggage coupons, the receiving agent makes 
a copy of the waybill and forwards the same, with 
coupons attached, to the Freight Auditor at the close of 
the month. 

The agent makes a weekly report to the Freight 
Auditor as follows : 

i. A report showing the total amount of freight 
charges on all waybills received during the week: (a) 
from stations on his own line, (fr)from stations on 
foreign lines, and (c) total received freight charges per 



43 6 RAILWAY ORGANIZATION AND WORKING 

weekly balance-sheet; also, total forwarded freight 
charges on waybills made to stations on foreign lines. 

2. A report of all interline waybills received from 
points on foreign lines, and of all interline waybills made 
to points on foreign lines. 

3. From junction stations only, a junction freight re- 
port of all interline waybills from stations on a foreign 
line over his line to stations on another foreign line, his 
line being intermediate. 

4. From junction stations only, a junction freight 
report of all interline waybills to and from stations on 
his line, received from or delivered to connecting lines. 

5. Junction agents are also required to make reports 
of any miscellaneous charges made in waybills delivered 
to connecting lines, if those charges were made after the 
bill left the forwarding station. 

6. A report, from milling and cleaning in transit sta- 
tions, of all waybills on which milling or cleaning in 
transit charges have been collected. Original waybills 
on which transit rates have been collected must be re- 
turned weekly to the Freight Auditor with the transit 
reports in which they are included. Transit reports are 
made separately for each miller or cleaner and for each 
kind of grain. They show the amount of each kind of 
grain received at the station, and the amount of product 
of each kind forwarded on free billing account of transit 
rates. 

The agent makes a monthly report to the Freight 
Auditor as follows : 

I. Separate reports of all local waybills received from 
and made to stations on his line and not included in a 
previous monthly statement. All errors discovered and 
corrected before the monthly received report is rendered 
are taken into account in making this report. The fact 



APPENDIX 437 

that a waybill has been sent to the Freight Auditor or in- 
cluded in a weekly received report does not render it too 
late to make a correction, provided the waybill has not 
been included in a previous monthly report. Waybills 
must be included in freight reports at the corrected 
figures. 

2. Separate statements of interline waybills received 
from and made to stations on foreign lines during the 
month. 

3. Separate recapitulations of stations from which 
bills have been received and of stations to which bills 
have been made showing totals of tonnage, freight 
charges, advanced charges, and prepaid charges. 

4. A report showing the weight and freight charges 
on the several commodities forwarded and received. 

5. Switching and car-service charges are accounted for 
in the report for the week in which they accrue. The re- 
port of switching charges collected must show the date 
of switching, car numbers and initials, points between 
which switching is done, commodity, name of party from 
whom collection is made, date collected, and the amount 
of charges on each car. 

The report of car-service charges collected must shew 
the date of detention, name of party from whom collec- 
tion is made, car number and initials, whether car is 
loaded or empty, rate per day, and the amount collected 
on each car ; also state of weather, a matter affecting the 
charges. 

The report of storage charges collected must show 
date of collection, name of party from whom collection 
is made, reference to the waybill on which the material 
was received, basis of charge, and the amount collected. 

The agent at a junction station, where foreign lines 



43 8 RAILWAY ORGANIZATION AND WORKING 

perform switching for his line, forwards monthly to the 
Division Freight Agent a statement showing in detail 
the service performed by each line, and opposite each car 
number must make reference to his report, covering 
"storage, switching, etc.," to the Freight Auditor. At 
junction stations where switching is performed for other 
lines in accordance with agreements between the roads 
and orders received from the connecting line, a report of 
the service is made to the Superintendent, who prepares 
bill to cover. A copy of this report is sent to the Division 
Freight Agent. 

To the Fuel Accountant. — Agents at coaling stations 
make reports weekly to the Fuel Accountant of coal 
received, coal delivered to engines, and cars rebilled. 
Monthly they forward an inventory of coal on hand, cars 
on track, and a balance-sheet. Where coal is delivered to 
engines working on two or more divisions, a separate 
report must be made for each division. 

To the Car Accountant. — The agent makes a daily re- 
port of all cars received at or forwarded from his station 
and on hand. Cars on hand must include all cars regard- 
less of what service they may be in, and must be carried 
on the reports every day while at the station. Junction 
agents, in addition to the above, must report daily all 
cars interchanged with connecting lines, whether for 
switching purposes or otherwise. The car number and 
initials, also the final destination and route of each car, 
must be given. 

IRREGULAR REPORTS 

Attention will now be given briefly to an agent's duty 
under a few special conditions. 

In case of loss or damage by fire to property of the 
company or in its possession, the agent must notify the 



APPENDIX 439 

General Manager by wire and confirm, giving kind of 
property, whether partial or total loss, location, date, and 
cause of fire. 

When shippers refuse to ship goods under the terms 
and conditions of classification, tariff, or rules of the 
company, the freight must be refused, and the Division 
Freight Agent or the General Freight Agent should be 
notified. 

When freight is receipted for as being in bad order, 
report should be made to the Freight Claim Agent. 

When stock dies or is crippled in transit, the agent 
should call a veterinary surgeon to make an examination 
of the animal. The surgeon's report and bill should be 
sent to the Freight Claim Agent. 

The Freight Claim Agent should also receive reports 
as follows : (a) when perishable freight is received and 
refused — the report should give the value, why refused 
and the consignee's whereabouts; (b) when unable to 
find a consignee after communicating with the billing 
agent; (c) when freight has the appearance of having 
been tampered with; (d) when, after sealing and sending 
forward, cars are discovered unsealed and destined be- 
yond ; (e) when a connecting line refuses a shipment on 
account of improper billing, correction should be obtained 
from the billing agent, but if refused for any other 
reason, both the billing agent and the Freight Claim 
Agent should be notified. 

Changes in advanced charges or prepaid charges 
should be authorized by the billing agent or the Freight 
Auditor, and the Freight Auditor notified when the 
change has been made. 

When stock is shipped on contract, the original con- 
tract is sent to the Freight Auditor, the duplicate de- 



440 RAILWAY ORGANIZATION AND WORKING 

livered to the shipper, and the triplicate kept for the 
agent's file. 

When waste pipes on refrigerator-cars are unclean, 
clogged, or otherwise in bad condition, report must be 
made to the Superintendent. 

When freight is received on a slip-bill, the agent should 
notify the General Superintendent if the regular waybill 
is not rceived before the shipment. 

An agent should report to the General Solicitor, by 
telegraph, a summary of. any summons, complaint, notice, 
or other legal paper served on him, and should forward 
by mail the paper and a statement of the date of service, 
what the suit is for (unless disclosed by the paper), and 
any facts within his knowledge. 

A garnishee summons should be reported to the Legal 
Department or to the Superintendent, giving the name 
of the employee garnished, where employed, the person 
under whom employed, and where he receives his pay. 



THE HANDLING OF OUT-FREIGHT AT THE 
ILLINOIS CENTRAL OUT-FREIGHT HOUSE, 
FOOT OF SOUTH WATER STREET, CHI- 
CAGO 
In considering the methods of handling freight em- 
ployed at this particular freight house, it will be proper 
to take up first such physical matters as the design of 
the building, driveway, track arrangements, etc. 

The house proper is a brick structure, approximately 
1,000 feet in length and 48 feet wide, at the south end 
of which is a covered platform 25 feet wide and 600 feet 
long, this giving practically 1,600 feet for the handling 
of out-freight. The house is located about 400 feet east 
of the entrance to the yards at the foot of South Water 



APPENDIX 441 

Street. It has forty-three receiving-doors, in front of 
each of which is located a five-ton capacity scale for the 
weighing of freight after being unloaded from the wagon. 
The offices occupied by the receiving clerks are located 
so that each office takes care of two doors, one-half of 
each office being assigned to every door. A noticeable 
feature about the floor of the house is that on the track 
side of the house the floor is hardwood and laid longi- 
tudinally, this greatly facilitating trucking and conse- 
quently effecting economy in expense of handling. 

The driveway, extending the entire length of the 
building, is about 75 feet wide, and is situated on the 
east side of the house. It is paved with heavy granite 
blocks — undoubtedly a great aid to teaming during wet 
weather. 

The house tracks, numbering seven, have a total ca- 
pacity of 238 cars, this including the platform above 
referred to, although this space cannot be fully utilized 
because of the fact that the cars have to be ' 'spotted" 
when set, there being a considerable blank space of wall 
between the doors on the track side of the house. 

For the purpose of operation, the house is divided into 
three sections, each about 500 feet long, the point of 
division of each section being called a "relay." One man 
in charge, with three or four helpers, is stationed at this 
point to take care of the loaded trucks moving between the 
sections. The object of this division is to keep truckers 
as near as possible to their receiving-doors, as otherwise 
a trucker stationed at Door 3, having a lot destined to a 
car at the other end of the house, would have to walk 
about half a mile before he returned to his door, which 
would consume a great deal of time. The trucker brings 
his truck-loads to this relay, leaves the loaded trucks 



442 RAILWAY ORGANIZATION AND WORKING 

there, and picks up another truck destined to a car in his 
section, which he delivers to the car ; then returns to his 
door. It is an important duty of the foremen to see that 
truckers are always handling a truck and not returning 
to their doors empty-handed. Of course, in the handling 
of trucks from Section I to Section 3, the truckers of 
Section 2 also handle trucks between those two sections. 

The force of the house, and their duties, are as fol- 
lows : (a) One General Foreman, who supervises, not 
only the handling of out-freight but all other loading and 
unloading of freight at the Chicago station at South Water 
Street. Although he is compelled, as a result of this gen- 
eral supervision, to divide his time between the various 
houses, most of his time is spent in the out-house, as he 
finds it can be used more profitably there than elsewhere. 
He is responsible for employing all help, (b) One Out- 
bound Foreman, who has charge of the force and general 
working of the outbound house, reporting to the General 
Foreman, (c) One Assistant Foreman, who assists the 
foreman in the operation of the house, (d) Two Relay- 
Men, who have charge of the handling of the freight at 
the points of division of the three sections of the house. 
(e) Thirty- four Receiving Clerks, one at each door, (f) 
Thirty-four Scalemen, one located at each door, (g) One 
Revising or Routing Clerk, whose duty it is to aid the 
receiving clerks in the proper routing of freight, and to 
correct any errors which they may make in this regard. 
(h) Thirty Stowmen, one for each run of seven cars, 
whose first duty in the morning is to open cars, sweep 
them out, and place across his run the various bridges. 
His special duty in the evening, just before close of busi- 
ness, is to take up the bridges, and close and fasten the 
doors of the cars. {1) About 140 Truckers, the number 



APPENDIX 443 

varying, of course, with the amount of business, the fall 
being considered the busiest season of the year. They are 
divided into gangs of three and distributed among the 
various doors open for business. When, however, busi- 
ness is light in the out-freight house, and in the opinion 
of the General Foreman they can be utilized to better 
advantage at the in-freight house, they are sent there. 
(/) Two Messenger Boys, whose duty includes the car- 
rying of the shipping tickets from the receiving clerks to 
the billing office, and other work of a similar nature. 
(k) Two Carders and Sealers, whose duty it is properly 
to card all cars on the house tracks, and also to see that 
the cars are properly sealed at the close of business, the 
actual sealing at night being done by a force of about 
fifteen men picked from the floor of the house, the sealers 
simply inspecting seals and keeping records. (/) One 
Special Policeman, who is stationed at the entrance of the 
driveway, and whose duty it is to keep a lookout for 
wagons containing a large consignment for one point, 
in which case he directs the same to the door nearest the 
location of the car into which it will be loaded. 

The actual handling of freight is as follows : The 
package is unloaded and received at the door of the 
house by the scaleman, who either loads it directly on a 
truck, many of which are readily accessible for that pur- 
pose, or places it on the floor of the house, as best suits 
his convenience. The shipping-ticket, showing the list of 
packages, marks, etc., is delivered by the teamster to the 
receiving clerk. The scaleman then weighs the package, 
after which he calls out to the receiving clerk the mark- 
ings on the same, the town, state, etc. He also gives to 
the receiving clerk the weight of the package as found 
by him. The receiving clerk compares the markings, 



444 RAILWAY ORGANIZATION AND WORKING 

called out to him by the scaleman, with the shipping-ticket, 
and if they correspond, he marks on the same the weight 
given by the scaleman. He then calls out to the scaleman 
the box number, and inserts on the shipping-ticket the car 
number and initial, the latter information being before 
him on the daily loading-sheet. The scaleman marks with 
chalk on the package the box number given to him, and 
also the letter of the door at which the freight is received, 
the latter being done in order to keep a check on the door 
at which the package is handled. The receiving clerk 
routes the shipment, when destined to a point on a foreign 
line, in accordance with instructions from the General 
Freight Department. One copy of the shipping-ticket, 
which is in duplicate, is returned receipted to the team- 
ster, the other copy being sent to the billing office. If the 
shipper provides his own ticket, which is generally the 
case, the receiving clerk duly receipts for the freight by 
use of a rubber stamp. For shippers who do not have 
their own tickets the railroad company has a form of 
receipt for that purpose. The scaleman then loads the 
freight of the trucks, if he has not already done so, and 
wheels the same to the center of the floor of the house, 
convenient for the trucker. The trucker trucks the 
freight from his receiving-door to the box number shown 
on the package, if it is in his section; but if not in his 
section, he trucks it to the first relay point, as previously 
explained. The stowman receives the freight from the 
truckers at the car, sees that it is loaded in the proper car, 
and packs it in station order (if loaded in a way car). 
He must take particular care to arrange the freight so as 
to eliminate, as far as possible, all probability of damage 
while en route. He also inspects markings on the pack- 
ages and compares the same with the destination of the 



APPENDIX 445 

car. Under this system there is no check kept on the 
trucker delivering the freight into the car, as in the case 
of the vericheck system. 

The handling of lots containing but one or two small 
packages is accomplished in this way. The scaleman, 
after marking, places the package near the center of the 
floor, it being the sole duty of one trucker in each section, 
provided with a four-wheel truck, to gather up each of 
these small packages and, if in his section, to place them 
in front of the run in which the car is located to which the 
package is destined. The stowman of that run carries the 
package from that point and stows it in the car. The 
reason for such handling is obviously that of economizing 
on labor. 

Setting of cars on house tracks. — The cars are set on 
the house tracks, not only in station, but also train order, 
they being made up by a switching crew at Welden 
Island (Fourteenth Street) and placed at the house dur- 
ing the night ready for the next day's business. After 
they are placed, the yard clerks prepare the loading-sheet 
for the day, copies of which are placed in the hands of 
the receiving clerks and others concerned. 

Perishable freight. — For the expeditious handling of 
perishable freight, there are ten doors at the south end 
of the building which receive nothing but that class of 
trafBc after 2 p. m. ; this for the purpose of arranging for 
the loading of all such stuff before closing hours, so as 
not to hold it over until the next day. For perishable 
freight which cannot be loaded out on the day received, a 
cooler is provided, this being built inside the house. 

Special receiving-doors. — A special arrangement is 
maintained in the out-freight house, which provides one 
door each for the exclusive use of the following shippers : 



446 RAILWAY ORGANIZATION AND WORKING 

Montgomery Ward ; Sears, Roebuck & Company ; and 
Butler Brothers. This evidently has been established for 
policy reasons, as it greatly aids the shippers in question 
to bring down to a minimum delay to their teams, and 
thereby to reduce teaming expense. However, this is a 
very expensive method of handling, so far as the railroad 
company is concerned, by reason of the increased 
trucking. 

Transfer outbound freight. — Transfer outbound 
freight is generally handled early in the morning, during 
which time all the receiving clerks, weighmen, etc., whose 
doors have not been opened for the day, take a hand in 
the proper disposition of this freight. However, this busi- 
ness has lately been transferred to Fordham (104th 
Street). 

A fair average of the amount of business handled 
daily is given as 2,000,000 pounds of out-freight, the 
transfer freight handled amounting to about 1,400,000 
pounds daily. The cost of handling at the Illinois Central 
is high per ton as compared with other roads, undoubtedly 
due to the extreme length of the house. The remedy for 
this would be to shorten the house and to provide more 
tracks. The loading covers about 220 cars daily. The 
above figures include Big Four out-freight, this being 
handled through the same house. 

The system used at the present time, and as described 
in the foregoing, was perfected by the present General 
Foreman. While one might think more or less confusion 
would result at the relay points of the house in the way of 
congestion of trucks, my observation was that everything 
pertaining to the handling of freight worked very 
smoothly, and, under conditions as shown, it would prob- 
ably be difficult to improve upon the system used. 



APPENDIX 447 

COST OF HANDLING FREIGHT 

One of the greatest problems of today in connection 
with the freight service of a railroad, especially in large 
centers where ground rent is very high, land very valu- 
able, and space limited, is to keep the cost of handling 
freight down to the lowest possible figure, and at the same 
time to do the work effectively and with dispatch. 

As regards the workings of a local freight-house, con- 
gestion is always expensive, not only in itself, as it causes 
confusion, interference, conflict, delays, complaints, etc., 
but also in its after-effects which are experienced in the 
shape of claims for loss and damage, complaints and pos- 
sibly loss of business from shippers, etc. Although con- 
gestion might be avoided by increasing the facilities for 
receiving and handling freight, by employing more clerks, 
truckers, storers, yardmen etc., the cost of handling would 
by such steps be enormously increased, and as the railway 
companies are in the business for the money there is in 
it, the problem is to find the minimum amount of room, 
facilities, and men that are necessary for the proper and 
efficient handling of the business, and the proper arrange- 
ment of these different factors. Obviously, the considera- 
tion of expense eliminated, doubling your force, your 
room, your depot, your freight-houses, and your yards 
would double your efficiency and ability to take care of 
the business, but the additional expense involved would 
not always justify such measures. The commercial 
weelth of the country would have to be considerably in- 
creased, or the operating expenses and fixed charges of 
the railroads in some way materially decreased ; or, as an 
alternative, railway rates for the hauling of freight would 
necessarily have to be increased. As railroads must earn 
sufficient revenue to defray the expenses of operation, 



448 RAILWAY ORGANIZATION AND WORKING 

and also meet their fixed charges — such as taxes, 
rentals, interest on bonds, dividends, insurance, etc. — it 
will readily be seen that the handling of goods in the 
freight-houses in all large and congested centers is an 
item demanding close economy and surveillance. 

This economy is not always obtainable by employing 
a few men, but in having the necessary number of men 
with adequate depot room and adjoining track facilities 
for loading and unloading cars. The problem of the 
present day is to find the least possible expense necessary 
to handle the business with promptness and dispatch. It 
goes without saying that the expense will vary by compari- 
son of one freight-house with another, on the same road 
and in the same city, or on different roads in the same 
city, due to the local conditions at each depot, the differ- 
ent kinds of freight handled, and the variability of ton- 
nage handled at each depot, as well as the volume of the 
tonnage. 

Eliminating the labor, or personal, element, we find 
that the arrangement and manner in which a freight- 
house is built affects to a large extent the cost of handling 
freight, I believe that the in-freight and the out-freight 
should be handled in separate houses — that is to say, under 
normal conditions, and in large centers. My idea is that, 
where ground space will permit, the freight-houses should 
have some uniform proportion of length as to width, 
according to the business being done ; and, where possi- 
ble, the loading and unloading tracks should be between 
the in- and out-houses, with a platform between. This 
would permit greater freedom of movement to the freight- 
handlers, and would be invaluable in the case of trans- 
ferring freight, and, I believe, would result in economy, 
as they could perform their labor more satisfactorily than 



APPENDIX 449 

under other conditions. The two tracks on either side of 
the platform in the middle could be so utilized that one 
could contain the inbound cars to be transferred, and the 
other the outbound cars to receive the transferred goods. 

Of course, natural conditions would affect such an 
arrangement to a great extent, but the principal factors 
involved in dealing with the handling of freight are the 
expense incurred and the volume of outbound freight as 
compared with the volume of inbound freight. Under 
the above arrangement the freight office might be situated 
very advantageously at one end of, and connecting, the 
two houses, in and out, and the close arrangement of 
these three principal factors — the in-house, out-house, 
and freight office — would, I think, work out more 
economically, on account of their continuity with each 
other, than if they were all three separate, although with- 
in close proximity to each other. 

In smaller cities and in country towns the in- and out- 
freight can be handled satisfactorily in one building, or 
under one roof ; but in large and important commercial 
centers, like Chicago, Milwaukee, Kansas City, Cleveland, 
St. Louis, etc. — I think it will be found less expensive to 
handle the two kinds of freight separately as there is, 
by virtue of the enormous volume of traffic involved, 
more risk of shipments becoming mixed, more confusion, 
more interference, and I dare say more claims arising 
from the joint handling of in- and out-shipments, than 
from the separate handling of the two. 

However, the handling of in- and out-freight in the 
same house may be employed advantageously where the 
principle of two levels can be utilized, such as is the 
case with the Local Freight House of the Wisconsin 
Central Railway at Chicago, where there is a viaduct on 



45° RAILWAY ORGANIZATION AND WORKING 

a level with the second story of the freight-house, by 
means of which the in-freight is handled on the second 
floor and the out-freight on the ground floor, both of 
which are handled to and from the cars through the same 
doors on the first floor, the in-freight being elevated to the 
second or viaduct floor by means of large and powerful 
elevators. Under such conditions a car can be unloaded 
and loaded at the same time. 

The length and width of a freight-house, in or out, 
also affects the cost of handling freight. Obviously, on 
account of the greater trucking space involved, an out- 
freight house should be as narrow in width as the volume 
of the business handled will warrant, and in most cases 
should average about thirty feet wide. An in-freight 
house, on the other hand, should be as wide and as square 
as possible, as goods are received from cars in a steadier 
and more constant manner than is the case with out- 
freight, which is loaded somewhat spasmodically, and at 
the will of the shipper, while trains carrying in-freight 
arrive on certain specified schedules, enabling the freight- 
handlers to transact their business of unloading in an 
even and methodical manner. Then again, the in-freight 
house should be very wide on account of the fact that 
goods are generally stored in it for several days before 
delivery is actually taken by consignees, and some goods 
are not infrequently held over a somewhat lengthy period. 
Out-freight, on the other hand, is generally, or should be, 
put in cars and forwarded the day that it is delivered to 
the railway company. Hence all the width that is neces- 
sary in an out-freight house is that which will actually 
contain shipments in process of being put into the cars. 
The actual length of the two houses will be determined, 
of course, by the amount of traffic handled through each. 



APPENDIX 451 

Another thing that affects the cost of handling freight 
is the system of "spotting" cars. At a station where 
business is very heavy in volume, and it is necessary to 
have six, seven, or eight parallel rows of cars, the process 
of "spotting" these cars so that they come opposite to 
each other, door to door, is quite an undertaking, and 
necessitates an immense amount of switching, as on ac- 
count of the difference in the length of the various cars 
they all have to be placed uncoupled. This switching 
raises the cost of handling freight, but in some cases may 
be avoided by the adoption of a system of island platforms 
— i. e., platforms about eight feet wide between each row 
cf cars. Under the latter arrangement, the cars can be 
set in their rows without uncoupling and there would 
be practically no switching; but the question that is in- 
volved is whether the benefit obtained from the decreased 
switching are greater than and adequately offset the dis- 
advantages of the increased trucking space and the addi- 
tional ground area required by the platforms. Six plat- 
forms, each eight feet wide, would mean an increased 
trucking space of from twenty-five to thirty feet, 1 and 
would compel the company to purchase that many addi- 
tional feet of right of way. Hence, under some circum- 
stances, the system of "spotting" cars might be the more 
economical, under other conditions, the island platform 
arrangement might be the most advantageous. In the 
case of small cities, where there is only one loading track, 
the system of continuous sliding-doors would, I think, 
be more economical than any other, and would do away 
with the "spotting" of cars. 

In large centers, where the out-freight of a railroad is 

1 Twenty-five to thirty feet and not forty-five feet, since without 
platforms, three or four feet or so must be left between every pair 
of cars. 



45 2 RAILWAY ORGANIZATION AND WORKING 

of great volume, the manner in which the freight is de- 
livered on the floor of the freight-house affects the cost 
of its handling. For instance, in the case of an out- 
freight house, 30 feet wide and 500 feet long, with sixteen 
receiving-doors on the yard or dray side, and twelve doors 
on the track side, a teamster comes up to door No. 1 at 
one end of the house and drops down a box of mer- 
chandise on the freight-house floor which is destined, 
perhaps, to be carried into one of the cars on a run at the 
other end of the building, say in the run opposite door 
No. 10. This necessitates the trucker hauling this box the 
whole length of the freight-house, or nearly 500 feet, 
which, while he might do so with all possible haste, would 
still result in his consuming as much time as it would 
take him to make three trips to runway No. 5, or per- 
chance five or six trips to runway No. 3. Hence this hap- 
hazard and random delivery of freight on the floor of the 
freight-house is a more expensive proposition than if 
the freight should happen to be delivered at the right 
door — i. e., the one opposite, or nearly opposite, the run in 
which the car, that is ultimately to carry the freight, is 
located. 

Now, this could easily be arranged for by stationing 
a man at the entrance to the receiving-yard, whose duty 
it would be to stop and inquire of each teamster the desti- 
nation of the goods he intended delivering to the railway 
company. This person, who might be termed a "direct- 
ing clerk," would, upon receipt of such information from 
the teamster, direct him to the door opposite the run of 
cars into which his freight would ultimately be carried. 
In the case of a teamster having a number of different 
packages for a number of different destinations, two or 
more doors in the center of the house might be arranged to 



APPENDIX 453 

take care of these miscellaneous consignments, the object 
being, of course, to decrease the amount and length of 
trucking. If there were some other wagons or teamsters 
at any particular door, each one could take his turn, and 
the yard could be arranged so that all teams would enter 
at one end and depart from the other. 

In this way, besides the advantages above mentioned, 
there would be more order and less confusion in the 
receiving-yard, and the draymen and teamsters would be 
enabled to transact their business in a quicker manner, 
and could leave the yard more promptly than under 
the system of permitting them to drive up to whatever 
door they see unused. The results that would be derived 
from the establishment of such a system as this would 
seem to me to more than offset the trifling expense of the 
directing clerk's salary. This system would also tend to 
reduce the number of mistakes occasioned by putting 
freight in the wrong cars, as freight for a certain run of 
cars would be placed right in front of that run, and the 
receiving clerks and checkers, having to familiarize them- 
selves with only certain portions of the geography of 
their road, would make fewer mistakes, and would be 
more likely to detect mistakes, if any, on the part of the 
directing clerk, in case he directed a teamster to the 
wrong door. Truckers would also be able to accomplish 
a greater amount of work by reason of having to truck 
a shorter distance; and the storers would be enabled to 
do their work more quickly and with less interference 
from the truckers, especially in the gangways and in the 
cars, than under the present system, as, on account of the 
smaller distance involved, the truckers could truck the 
freight directly to the car intended to contain it, instead 
of leaving the trucks at the entrance of the run for the 



454 RAILWAY ORGANIZATION AND WORKING 

storer to handle. Of course, in arriving at the above con- 
clusions, I have taken into consideration the operation of 
the out-freight house as a separate proposition, and under 
the system of "spotting" cars on a track schedule. 

As regards the cost of operating long out-freight 
houses, as against short ones, without the employment 
of a directing clerk as afore mentioned — in the case, say, 
of a freight-house 500 feet long — if such a freight-house 
were to be doubled in length — i. e., to 1,000 feet — it could 
without doubt handle double the amount of traffic ; and if 
the expense of operation were just doubled, it would cost 
just as much per ton to handle the freight as before ; but 
the expense would be more than doubled, for the simple 
reason that the trucking would be more lengthy, more 
promiscuous, and hence more costly, than for the 500-foot 
house. It might easily be a common occurrence for a 
trucker to pick up a truck at door No. 1, push it to door 
No. 20, some 1,000 feet away, and then pick up a truck 
at door No. 20 loaded for door No. 2, and so on. 

It seems to me a better plan, where a railroad has 
several divisions entering a city, to have small freight- 
houses for each division, keeping the in-freight separate 
from the out-freight, and to have such freight-houses 
located in different parts of the city ; or they might even 
be quite near each other, within four or five blocks prox- 
imity, which, of course, would be determined by the 
local conditions in any particular city. Take the case of 
the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul's Chicago local freight 
station, for example, where the ratio of tonnage of the 
in-freight to the out-freight is as 5 to 7. Such a road 
might be very profitably operating two in-freight houses 
and three out-freight houses, each smaller in size than 
the in-freight house and out-freight house it now pos- 



APPENDIX 455 

sesses, and situated within four or five blocks of each 
other. This would give the railway an in-freight house 
for each of its divisions entering the city, and the three 
out-freight houses could easily be assigned to Southwest, 
West, and Northwest traffic respectively: the shipping 
public could be very easily educated as to which was the 
proper one to transact business with. By the adoption 
of bills of lading, freight notices, and the like, of a differ- 
ent color for each of the different freight-houses, such 
a system could be made to work very smoothly with all 
concerned. A directing clerk could be employed at each 
station, and he could instruct the teamsters as to the 
proper freight-house to go to, in case they went to the 
wrong one. As regards the in-freight, the addresses of 
the different in-freight houses could be printed on the 
different freight notices, and expense bills of different 
colors could be used, so that the public would not experi- 
ence much difficulty in getting familiar with the arrange- 
ment. 

In regard to the vericheck system, I believe a slight 
modification — i. e., the substitution of "box" numbers for 
car numbers — is more satisfactory, accomplishes better 
results, and causes fewer mistakes, than the absolute car 
number system. Actual experience has verified this. As 
the car numbers change from day to day, and are generally 
long (five figures in length), and as there is a possibility 
of having two cars of the same number with different 
initials on the same day, there are naturally more chances 
for error than in the case of "box" numbers, which are 
never more than three figures in length, and which would 
never change, and could for that reason be easily learned 
and memorized by the receiving clerks and checkers. 

The in-freight in larger cities being handled prin- 



45 6 RAILWAY ORGANIZATION AND WORKING 

cipally in the forenoon, and the out-freight in the after- 
noon, and the out-freight being generally of greater 
volume than the in-freight, the forces of employees oper- 
ating the two houses can in some instances be so arranged 
that they will be employed in greater numbers at the 
house where they are needed the most during the differ- 
ent periods of the day. For instance, a greater number 
of men could be employed in the in-freight house in the 
forenoon ; and as the rush in the inbound freight subsided, 
and the rush in the outbound freight increased, a portion 
of them could be transferred as the occasion required. 
But the establishment of such a method of joint working 
must be done in as flexible a manner as possible, for the 
reason that there are periods when both the in- and out- 
freight houses experience an overflow of business at the 
same time, which might result in congestion. Hence 
the successful working of such a plan would depend to 
a large extent upon the general character and physical 
condition of the in- and out- freight house forces ; but 
under intelligent and competent foremanship I think 
such an arrangement might be profitably employed, 
especially where the two houses are in close proximity to 
ecch other. 

In order to get the best results from the services of 
freight-handlers, a great deal depends upon the foremen 
in charge, who should be men of trained experience in 
handling other men, and who must be familiar with the 
geographical conditions of their road, and see that freight 
is loaded in station and division order, and for the right 
division or junction points. 

With reference to the question of wages, care should 
be used in the selection of men, and they should receive 
a fair remuneration for their services. This would result 



APPENDIX 457 

in a better understanding between employer and em- 
ployee, and there would be fewer vacancies to fill, thus 
assuring a working force of experienced men. This alone 
would count for much in point of economy, and the rail- 
roads would be the gainer in the greater efficiency of the 
men. 

If it is necessary for the office men of a local freight- 
house to work all hours of the day and night, as appar- 
ently a great many of them do, it seems to me that it 
would be a good plan to organize the force into three 
shifts, each working eight hours each. There would not 
necessarily have to be the same number of men in each 
shift ; the night shift could be much smaller than the two 
day shifts. The railroad company would be the gainer, 
in that the men would do better work than under the over- 
time system. This system of shifts would possibly have 
a tendency to raise the cost of handling freight, but, on 
the other hand, would prove of value and economy in the 
long run by averting losses and preventing claims for 
damages and overcharges, and prevent much public 
clamor. If you work your force overtime and do not pay 
them for it, you may by such means keep the cost of han- 
dling freight down to a relatively small figure, but not 
by proper means ; and the men become discouraged and 
demoralized, and their work is liable to be a little below 
the standard. 

In cases where team track tonnage is used in estimating 
the cost of handling freight at a station, it necessarily 
has a decreasing tendency, as there is practically no ex- 
pense attached to the loading and unloading of team- 
track business, as compared with the handling of LCL 
shipments through a freight-house. In only a small per- 
centage of cases does the railway company furnish any 



45 8 RAILWAY ORGANIZATION AND WORKING 

help in the loading and unloading of cars on team track, 
and necessarily, as far as the railway company is con- 
cerned, the cost is but trifling. 

In the case of one important freight station with which 
I am familiar, the cost of handling the in-freight aver- 
ages about 40.03 cents per ton, and the out-freight about 
34.90 cents per ton ; which, at the ratio of 7 tons of out- 
freight to 5 tons of in-freight, would make an average 
cost of 37.04 cents per ton ; while team-track tonnage costs 
only 3.34 cents per ton. 



THE RED BALL SYSTEM OF HANDLING FAST 
FREIGHT 

The intention of the writer of this paper is to illustrate 
the working of the Red Ball system of fast freight by 
reference to a particular railway, the Rock Island System 
being chosen for the purpose. 

This fast freight service is designed for carload ship- 
ments falling under the following general classifications : 
all Asiatic freight, or freight destined to or from the 
Pacific coast, El Paso, or south of El Paso ; all perishable 
freight ; all freight in refrigerator-cars under ice ; all 
freight in bond ; mixed lots of general merchandise, 
whether in carloads or less, included in the list of Red Ball 
commodities. Cars containing freight other than the 
specified commodities must not be Red-Balled without 
permission of the Freight Traffic Manager, General 
Freight Agent, or General Superintendent through the 
Assistant to Second Vice-President. 

About seventy stations have been named as Red Ball 
billing stations ; each being designated by letter or letters, 
and assigned a series of numbers to be used in numbering 
the envelopes carrying the waybills for the cars. On each 



APPENDIX 459 

side of every car is attached a card (in size 7 by 9 inches) 
with a circle filled in with red, on which is set in white 
the number of the train in which the car is to travel. 
These cards are of course removed at destination. 

A special envelope, also* red in color, must accompany 
each car of Red Ball freight, and every empty car that 
may be handled as such. The envelope covering the car 
for the nearest destination is given the opening symbol 
number, and the envelope for each succeeding destination 
is given succeeding numbers consecutively in the same 
order. For example, Chicago forwards Red Ball freight 
on a train as follows : 1 car for Davenport, 2 for Des 
Moines, 2 for Council Bluffs, 2 for Denver, etc. The 
opening number 1 should be given the car for Daven- 
port, 2 for Des Moines, and so on, and the opening num- 
ber for the next envelope for Red Ball freight from Chi- 
cago would be 8. The envelope would of course bear the 
Chicago symbol FM. 

Before the train leaves a Red Ball station, the agent 
compiles a "consist report" from the information shown 
on the Red Ball envelopes, and this report must be wired 
to the General Superintendent within an hour after the 
departure of the train. This report gives the symbol 
letter and number, car number and initial, contents, con- 
signee and destination, and, in case the latter is beyond 
the company's line, the junction point where the car 
leaves and the routing beyond. 

Each agent, at the close of each day, must file with the 
operator for transmission, forwarding a copy by first pas- 
senger train, a report of all Red-Balled cars on hand 
that were ready to go forward prior to the departure of 
the Red Ball train upon which they should have moved. 
This report, besides car numbers, initials, contents, and 



460 RAILWAY ORGANIZATION AND WORKING 

destination, gives the hour received and the cause of 
delay; a supplementary report gives the date and train 
forwarded. 

Whenever a loaded Red-Balled car is set out, a form 
known as "set-out car" is made out and attached to the 
face of the red envelope traveling with the car. This 
form is of a green color and mucilaged for convenience 
in attaching to the envelope. It is left, with the envelope 
attached, by the conductor with the telegraph operator 
at the point where the car is set out, and the information 
is at once wired to the General Superintendent. If the car 
is set out at a blind siding, the report will be left at the 
next telegraph station, and the agent at that point must 
immediately inform the proper officials. A car once set 
out for any cause and held for another train must not 
again be set out except on account of being in bad order. 
If the freight is transferred to another car, the necessary 
information is entered on the red envelope, but no change 
is permitted in the original symbol letter and number, 
which must identify the shipment to its destination. 

Reports previously alluded to have provided for com- 
plete information in regard to the shipments — i. e., con- 
signee, commodity, etc. ; but the "set-out car" report pro- 
vides only for train and car symbols and numbers. This 
is true also of any new reports hereinafter alluded to, as 
a car, after once having left the billing point, is known 
by symbols only. 

When a delayed car is forwarded, agents or yard- 
masters advise the General Superintendent by wire, stat- 
ing the symbol number of the car and the new train num- 
ber. A report is not required if a car, set out, is for- 
warded on the same train and date on which it arrived at 
a station. 



APPENDIX 461 

Agents or yard-masters at district terminals and other 
designated stations must wire the General Superintendent 
of the passing of trains and cars bearing the Red Ball 
freight. This report states only the lowest and highest 
symbol numbers of the letter on the Red Ball envelopes. 
When a break occurs in a series, two series are used in the 
report, the first terminating with the number preceding 
the missing symbol. 

A similar report is used in reporting arrival at destina- 
tion, or at junction points where cars leave the company's 
rails, or at company junctions, with the exception that 
freight destinated to local and branch-line points is fol- 
lowed only to the district terminal or branch-line junc- 
tion point. It then becomes the duty of the Division Su- 
perintendent and agent to see that such cars are forwarded 
to their destination on the first proper train, and that this 
arrives at destination as nearly on time as possible. 

Red Ball freight at intermediate stations — i. e., stations 
between district terminals — is forwarded to the first dis- 
trict terminal by local train to be switched at that point 
into proper Red Ball trains. Agents at non-Red Ball 
billing stations, having cars entitled to such billing, wire 
the agent at the first Red Ball billing station on the route 
of the car, and upon its arrival at such station the car is 
handled in the same manner as if originating at that point. 
Local merchandise-cars traveling as Red Ball freight are 
Red-Balled to the last district terminal reached before 
distribution begins. Agents at such terminals must then 
see that the car is promptly forwarded. Agents at dis- 
trict terminals are required to scrutinize all waybills, to 
discover whether or not any shipments are entitled to 
Red Ball service. 



462 RAILWAY ORGANIZATION AND WORKING 

The movement of Red Ball trains, as has been sug- 
gested, is under the direction of the General Superin- 
tendents, but each superintendent is required to notify 
connecting divisions of the movement of all such trains 
or cars destined for such divisions. Diversion of loaded 
cars in transit is handled by the Freight Claim Agent, 
the station agent who makes the diversion wiring the 
General Superintendent of his district the new consignee, 
destination, and routing. 

As the entire movement of these trains is reported by 
wire, it is necessary to prohibit the tracing of shipments 
by wire except in cases of very urgent importance, on 
the theory that the tracing has no effect upon the move- 
ment of this class of freight, tracers being regarded 
merely as requests for information as to location, move- 
ment, or arrival. All such tracing is handled through 
the Assistant to the Second Vice-President. All tele- 
graphic tracing is done by code, the inquiry being made 
of the General Superintendent most likely to have the 
car. If he does not have the car, he passes the inquiry 
to the General Superintendent to whom it has gone, word- 
ing his message in such form as to make it clear who it 
is that wants the information, and answer is made directly 
to the person making the initial inquiry. 

Where the destination of the freight is beyond the 
company's rails, delivery to connection is reported, fol- 
lowed by a report of the arrival at its ultimate destination, 
if desired, by mail. Trains are given a symbol letter, 
according to their points of origin and the dates on which 
they depart, and are known through to their destination 
by these symbol letters. 



APPENDIX 463 

PER DIEM AND CAR SERVICE RULES : THEIR 
MEANING AND APPLICATION 

"Per diem," generally speaking, is car service charged 
one railroad by another for the use of its cars ; "car 
service" is per diem charged the public by the railroad 
for the use of cars. While to a certain extent inter- 
related, per diem and car service must, for the sake of 
clearness, be treated separately. 

From the beginning of railroads in America up to 
1902 the only compensation a railroad received for the 
use of its cars by another railroad was upon a mileage 
basis, except in a few isolated instances where a per-diem 
rate was tried as an experiment by one railroad with an- 
other. The rate generally charged in the beginning was 
one and a half cents per mile, with no allowance for emp- 
ties. There was, however, no uniformity, railroads char- 
ging one another what they pleased. Later on, in the sev- 
enties, this rate was lowered to one cent per mile, loaded or 
empty ; then to three-quarters of a cent ; then to six mills ; 
and, finally, in 1892, by agreement of the roads forming 
the American Railway Association, it was fixed at three- 
quarters of a cent per mile. Under this arrangement, 
however, when a car was not being hauled no charges 
were accruing against it. There was, therefore, every 
incentive to keep foreign cars from moving, even to haul 
them back to their home tracks. They made excellent 
warehouses and could be stored away on sidings indefi- 
nitely. It also rested entirely with the company using the 
car as to how many or how few miles it should report on 
any car. Although it was considered a matter of honor 
to report mileage accurately and honestly, it has been 
proved in many instances that railroads did cut their 
mileage reports. One railroad in New England, it has 



464 RAILWAY ORGANIZATION AND WORKING 

been shown, held out $80,000 per year in mileage. No 
railroad permitted another to inspect its books to see 
whether or not accurate reports were being turned in; 
there was therefore no remedy; and the excuse for re- 
porting short mileage was that "the others do* it too." 

Once a car got off its home line it might be years be- 
fore it was returned. Many cars were reported on the 
books "lost." Railroads had men doing nothing else but 
going up and down different lines searching for cars. In 
time of car scarcity this practice was a hardship on all 
lines, as well as upon the public. While with a small 
road having few cars it was cheaper to pay mileage on 
cars than to own them, on a large road this was not true. 
The object of per diem was primarily to encourage the 
movement of cars. In 1900 the average run of a freight- 
car was only about twenty-four miles per day. This 
made the revenue from each car but 18 cents per day, 
and the total revenue from each car on a foreign line 
$65.70 per annum. The average cost of repairs per car 
of twenty-seven different railroads at that time was 
$43.53 per annum. Master Car Builders' rules allow 6 
per cent, per annum for depreciation. On a car costing 
$800 this meant a charge of $48 per year, making the 
cost of ownership of a car $91.53 per annum. This left a 
deficit of $25.83 to be made up from equipment fund or 
otherwise. Clearly, with an average mileage of twenty- 
four miles per day, at a cost of three-quarters of a cent 
per mile, the result was not remunerative to the railroad 
companies. There was no means of forcing the cars to 
greater mileage. 

In 1876 Mr. J. T. Rigney, the car record officer of the 
Baltimore & Ohio, first advocated a per-diem plan, but 
his proposition was not taken seriously, being considered 



APPENDIX 465 

impracticable. The per-diem method was tried subse- 
quently by different railroads among themselves, at vary- 
ing rates, simply as an experiment. Though generally 
denied that the per-diem charge is in any sense a "rental," 
it was argued that a car, like a house, represents money 
invested, and the fact remained, whether the car was in 
use or not, that the owner was deprived of its use when 
it was on a foreign line. The mileage basis is analogous 
to a case where a man rents a house, but declines to pay 
rent when he is not actually using it. A thousand cars 
represent an investment of at least $800,000, and a rail- 
road company which has upon foreign lines one thousand 
of its cars (and this is not at all unusual) has the same 
as loaned $800,000. What railroad would loan this 
amount in cash without adequate security and without 
assured interest? It is true that it was and is today the 
practice to keep as many foreign cars on the home lines 
as there are home cars on foreign lines, but this is only 
a means of getting around the question and was not in 
any sense a solution of it. 

In 1900, through the influence of Mr. J. W. Midgley 
and a number of large railroads, the Bureau of Car Per- 
formances and Statistics was organized to investigate 
this question of per diem and mileage, and, if possible, 
to arrive at a solution of the problem. After overcoming 
many difficulties in the way of prejudices, jealousies, and 
so forth, the per-diem rate of 20 cents per car per day, 
with a penalty charge of 80 cents, described more in 
detail below, was evolved, and was adopted April 24, 
1902, by the railways comprising the American Railway 
Association. 

Briefly, the per-diem rules are as follows: Twenty 
cents per car per day must be paid for every calendar 



466 RAILWAY ORGANIZATION AND WORKING 

day a car is in the hands of a foreign line, the day of 
receipt of car being disregarded, but payment being made 
for the day of delivery. A road has the right to demand 
the return of its car after it has been twenty days con- 
secutively on any road. If the car is held by such road 
more than ten days after the date of the penalty notice 
(thirty days in all), thereafter a penalty rate of 80 cents 
per day in addition to the per-diem rate of 20 cents must 
be paid for the further use of such car. All railroads and 
ferry lines are responsible to the car-owner for amounts 
accruing for the use of such car, whether in road or 
switching service, until the car has been delivered to the 
owner or to> another road ; but an arbitrary amount for 
each car in switching service may be reclaimed by the 
switching line from the road for which the service was 
performed, such amount to be fixed for each local terri- 
tory by agreement between the roads interested. (For 
instance: A Baltimore & Ohio car is delivered to the 
Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe by the Missouri Pacific at 
Newton, Kan., to be switched to a mill for loading and 
returned. The Missouri Pacific reports to the Baltimore 
& Ohio delivery of the car to the Atchison, Topeka & 
Santa Fe, and per-diem charges against the Missouri 
Pacific for such car cease and begin against the Atchison. 
The car being delivered within the yard at Newton, the 
Atchison gets no division of freight earnings, but simply 
an arbitrary switching charge from which have to be 
subtracted the per-diem charges accruing daily which the 
Atchison must pay. This is manifestly unfair, and the 
Atchison is allowed to make reclaim against the Missouri 
Pacific of, say, 40 cents, the average time required for 
such switching service having been determined and fixed 
at two days.) 



APPENDIX 467 

A road is responsible to the owner for an amount 
equal to the per diem accruing on any empty car delivered 
without the consent of the owner to a road which does 
not pay per diem ; this is also the case where a road per- 
mits the loading or reconsigning of a foreign car without 
the consent of the owner. Reclaim is usually allowed 
on account of defective cars, and, when a car is detained 
awaiting receipt of necessary repair material from its 
owner, per diem ceases from the date such material was 
ordered until the date received by the road holding the 
car. When a car has been destroyed, or so damaged as 
to require an appraisement, or a home route card has been 
requested under the Master Car Builders' rules, the per- 
diem charge ceases from the date of notice to the owner. 
Under these last two rules it is necessary that the Car 
Accountant should be immediately advised of all cars 
delayed, and the advice should show whether the cars are 
destroyed or damaged, and should contain such other 
information as will enable prompt and accurate reports 
to be made to the owners. 

The "interchange report" closes daily at midnight and 
includes a list of all cars exchanged upon the date named, 
unless otherwise noted : reports are required to< be made 
to the car record office on each day, whether cars are 
exchanged or not. Where there are different standards of 
time at junction points, the earlier time must be used. 
These reports shall be upon the prescribed form, giving 
station, date, car numbers, and initials, marked with a 
"x" or " — " to indicate whether loaded or empty and 
must be signed by the agents, or other authorized repre- 
sentative or representatives of both roads. The time 
of delivery of cars upon interchange tracks of connecting 
lines shall be the time given by the delivering road. Four 



468 RAILWAY ORGANIZATION AND WORKING 

copies are made of this report. Agents of both lines 
sign, and two copies are then delivered with the cars, one 
copy is retained for the agent's file, and one is sent to the 
car record office. For cars received the report will be 
made by the agent of the delivering road and the two 
copies received with the cars handled in the same manner 
■ — one copy for the file and one for the Car Accountant. 
Report of delivery to each road is made separately. The 
junction report for each day is made by the Car Account- 
ant of one road to the Car Accountant of another as soon 
as possible after the receipt of the interchange report, and 
shows receipts and deliveries. 

Within thirty days after the end of each calendar 
month car-owners must be furnished with a per-diem 
report for that month on the prescribed form, showing 
the number of days each car has been in service upon 
the road making the report. This report is made by the 
Car Accountant to the officer designated in the Equip- 
ment Register as the proper person to whom such reports 
should be sent. Remittance is made to such officer, and 
is usually by balance instead of by exchange of drafts. 
The penalty notice, which is printed in red, is served by 
one Car Accountant on another. It is sent in duplicate, 
one copy being retained, the other signed and returned. 
The notice states that the cars therein mentioned have 
been on the line of the road served twenty consecutive 
days, and that, if not disposed of within ten days, penalty 
of 80 cents per day per car will be charged. Car numbers 
and initials are given with dates and places of delivery, 
and provision is made for reply, showing disposition and 
date, opposite each car enumerated, in case the report is 
disagreed with. 

In case a road fails to receive promptly from a connec- 



APPENDIX 469 

tion cars upon which it has laid no embargo, it is re- 
sponsible to the connection for the per-diem charges on 
such cars so held for delivery, including the home cars 
of such connection. If such failure continues for more 
than three days, the delinquent line is thereafter in addi- 
tion responsible for the per-diem charges on all cars, 
wherever in transit, which are thus Held back for delivery, 
reports of which, giving initials and numbers when de- 
sired, are to be made daily. In case notice of an embargo 
is given by any road, cars already loaded with such traffic 
at the time such notice is issued are to be received. In 
case of refusal the road is responsible for per-diem 
charges for the number of days such cars are held, not 
exceeding the duration of the embargo. After the date 
of the notice a road must not load or reconsign cars in 
such traffic to the road issuing the notice. All such 
notices are to be given by wire to immediate connections, 
and by them transmitted as may be necessary. Provision 
is made for an arbitration committee of five members of 
the American Railway Association, to whom disputes 
are to be submitted. These rules do not apply to private 
cars. 

"Breaking penalty" constitutes getting a penalty car 
off one's own line. This is sometimes accomplished by 
delivering to a subsidiary line and reporting to the home 
line, such subsidiary company redelivering the car the 
next day perhaps. When penalty is broken, the 20-cent 
rate only applies, for penalty cannot follow a car to 
another line. This practice of escaping penalty is dis- 
couraged by the American Railway Association, which 
has endeavored to provide against it by ruling that certain 
named railroads shall be considered portions of one rail- 



47° RAILWAY ORGANIZATION AND WORKING 

road, and that delivery to or from any part thereof to 
another shall not constitute delivery to another line. 

Under this head also may properly come charges 
for exchange of passenger equipment According to the 
American Railway Association code of rules, adopted 
October 24, 1900, and as in effect January 1, 1906, "the 
following rates for the use of passenger equipment shall 
be in force, unless otherwise arranged between the roads 
concerned" : (a) The rate for coaches, dining-cars, chair- 
cars, parlor-cars, combined passenger-cars and postal-cars, 
shall be three cents per mile of actual distance ; and for 
baggage-, express-, mail-storage, combined baggage-ex- 
press, baggage-mail, and baggage-mail-express cars, one 
and a half cents per mile for actual distance. These rates 
shall apply when owners of cars participate in the busi- 
ness, and not when cars are hired to other lines, (b) The 
per-diem rate for coaches, dining-cars, chair-cars, etc., 
hired at other than mileage rates shall be $5 per day ; 
and for baggage-, express-, mail-storage, etc., cars, $3 
per day, subject, however, to agreement between the 
parties interested. Fractions of a day are counted as one 
day. When necessary to haul cars empty over the roads 
owning them, or intermediate roads, for delivery to the 
borrowing road, the tariff rates for such cars shall be 
charged the borrowing road for hauling cars from the 
points where they left service to the points of con- 
nection with the borrowing road and return, the charge 
for the empty haul being named to the borrowing road 
at the time the agreement to loan is made. 

At the last meeting of the American Railway Associa- 
tion it was agreed to raise the charge per diem from 20 
to 25 cents, the penalty charge being reduced to 75 cents. 
This rate is at present being ratified by the various roads 



V 



APPENDIX 

comprising the association and will go into effect when 
this has been completed. I am also informed that it is 
expected that the rate will in the near future be raised to 
30 cents, the penalty rate being lowered to 70 cents, the 
opinion being that this is nearer an equitable charge for 
the use of a car and one which will tend to promote greater 
activity. At the time of going into effect of the present 
per-diem charge the increase in the activity of freight- 
cars was remarkable. The charge touched the pocket- 
books of the various roads, and cars which had been 
struck off the books as lost appeared from the most 
unlikely places and were rushed home. The saving to the 
railroads was enormous. Instead of having to buy new 
equipment, the railroads found that they already owned 
enough — in some cases too much. In 1902 there were 
approximately a million and a half freight-cars in use in 
the United States. If the activity of these cars was in- 
creased 10 per cent., it would be equivalent to having 10 
per cent, more cars. This alone would save an expendi- 
ture of approximately $1,500,000. The average freight 
earnings per car per day at that time were about $2 
(though in some cases they rose as high as $7) ; and this 
would mean, at $2 per day, $1,095,000 per year in addi- 
tion. At the time of the adoption of the per-diem rate 
there was and had been for some time a severe car famine, 
and the resulting car "plenty" made the advantages of its 
adoption, if possible, more prominent. 

It may be pertinent to suggest that it seems hardly 
fair for a railroad to be charged the same rate for a car 
of 30,000 pounds' capacity as for an 80,000 pound- 
capacity car. One cent per ton capacity per day would 
seem equitable. 

Another thing which may be here brought up is the 



47 2 RAILWAY ORGANIZATION AND WORKING 

question of equipment pools, or of a clearing-house of 
freight equipment, or of freight and passenger equip- 
ment. There are in the United States today about two 
million freight-cars — sufficient to provide for all require- 
ments of traffic conditions for some time to come, if 
properly distributed and handled. While per diem works 
very well as a general rule, and is in any event far superior 
to the mileage method, it is true that for roads near large 
commercial centers in times of car shortage it is much 
more profitable to pay per diem than to own cars, and 
the result is that the smaller roads suffer — in fact, all roads 
get a taste of the same thing at different times. There is 
an American Railway Association rule which requires the 
reloading and reconsigning of a foreign car in the direc- 
tion of home ; but this is frequently violated, however, in 
case of car shortages. The only thing that can be done is 
to "kick," and this is done vigorously. The car-pool 
scheme would obviate this ; but it has the objection of 
placing the control of all the equipment in the country 
into the hands of one man or perhaps a committee. Jeal- 
ousies and dissentions among the roads would make it a 
constant source of complaint. It seems really too large a 
scheme and puts too much power into the hands of one 
man, though it might be practicable if the country were 
divided into districts, similar to the various passenger 
associations, and handled by district distributors under a 
general manager. 

Per diem has done much to unite the railroads of the 
country and to show them the advantages accruing from 
co-operation, and it may be that ultimately such a bureau 
will be put into operation. The Union Pacific, Southern 
Pacific, Oregon Short Line, and Oregon Railroad & Navi- 
gation Company have done so among themselves, pooling 



APPENDIX 473 

all their equipment, and the results have been found to 
be excellent, showing an enormous saving in empty-car 
mileage and a considerable increase in loaded-car mileage. 
An example of what can be done in the distribution of 
equipment from a "pool" is given by the Pullman 
Company and the Armour Car Lines. 

It will be noted that private cars are exempt from the 
payment of per-diem charges, this being for the reason 
that they have refused to enter the per-diem agreement 
because their remuneration under such would not be suf- 
ficient. A private car travels for the most part in trains 
that run on almost passenger schedules, covering 350 to 
400 miles per day. Private car lines charged one cent 
per mile west of Chicago and three-quarters of a cent east 
of Chicago, at the time of the adoption of per diem. It 
was agreed among the railways to reduce this payment 
to a half cent per mile. The result was that the car 
lines, which are the largest shippers themselves in the 
country, declared that they would pick out the smallest 
and weakest lines wherever possible and route everything 
over them; and this they did. The larger roads could 
not stand the loss of revenue, and one by one they all 
came to terms. At present the rate is regulated by private 
agreement, but is for the most part three-quarters of a 
cent per car per mile east of Ogden, Utah, and one cent 
west thereof, loaded or empty. 

"Car service" — or "demurrage," as it is popularly 
known — is the charge made by a railroad company to a 
consignee for the use of a car in excess of a reasonable 
time — usually forty-eight hours, though in some states 
different lengths of free time are required by statute. 

Car-service associations are formed by mutual agree- 
ment among railroad companies operating in a stated 



474 RAILWAY ORGANIZATION AND WORKING 

territory. They owe their existence to the growth of the 
business interests of the country, the enormous increase 
of through-freight handled, and the consequent extension 
of the railroad systems handling the same. The continu- 
ing increase in the volume of the freight brought into any 
section from distant markets, hauled without unloading 
over the tracks of connecting systems of the same gauge, 
made it more difficult for each carrier to keep track of its 
own cars. As the cars of each system were handled in- 
discriminately by every other system, they soon drifted 
to every quarter, as the current of traffic ebbed or flowed, 
and their whereabouts were often unknown to the car- 
rier owning them. To correct this evil, car-service asso- 
ciations were formed, so that each system might receive 
compensation for the use of its rolling-stock and no un- 
fair advantage taken by one system over another in the 
collection of such compensation, and to prevent cars 
standing idle at one place when needed to meet the traffic 
demands of another section of the country. 

These organizations had a beneficial effect in preventing 
congestion of empty and idle cars at one point, while a 
car famine prevailed at another. But it soon became ap- 
parent that the remedy was not complete. Carriers earn 
money by the moving of freight, and the idle car produces 
no revenue. The associations found that, while it was 
possible under the then existing rules to keep the unloaded 
cars moving from place to place as necessity might re- 
quire, they were without power to have the freight 
promptly unloaded by the consignee, thus securing the 
car for further service. The merchant was ordinarily 
anxious to get his goods from the car upon his shelves ; 
but the broker and commission merchant, who do large 
business with limited or no storage facilities, found it 



APPENDIX 475 

very convenient to use the cars in which their goods came 
as warehouses, and thus await the possibility of a favorable 
fluctuation in prices, when the commodity could be dis- 
posed of to advantage, and the car either unloaded or 
rebilled. To meet this contingency, the demurrage rules 
were formulated and promulgated, and the demurrage 
charge was agreed upon. 

The purpose of the car-service associations is not to 
make money themselves ; they make money for the roads 
only incidentally by keeping every car in active service. 
Their prime object was to conserve and promote the 
mutual interests of the carriers and the public by im- 
proving the service of the Traffic Department and insur- 
ing the prompt handling of freight. Different parts of 
the country and different commercial centers are covered 
by different car-service associations (thirty-seven in num- 
ber) , and it is their duty to see that no favoritism is shown 
in the assessment of demurrage charges ; that collection 
of all charges is made; that relief from charges is given 
under certain circumstances, such as heavy storms, 
bunching of cars in transit, etc. These associations re- 
ceive daily reports from all stations in their jurisdictions 
of all cars upon which demurrage is accruing ; and, to see 
that this is done without subterfuge, they have inspectors 
traveling about, noting car numbers, and then comparing 
with the agents' reports the results of their own observa- 
tions. 

The rules of the Chicago Car Service Association, 
which is composed of the roads entering Chicago and 
which contains about four hundred stations, is repre- 
sentative of car-service association rules as a general 
class, for, with some exceptions which I shall mention, 



47 6 RAILWAY ORGANIZATION AND WORKING 

and others which grow out of local conditions, they are 
all about the same. Briefly, these rules are as follows : 

Freight in carload lots is allowed 48 hours' free time 
for loading or unloading, or, when the same car is re- 
loaded, 96 hours are allowed, after which $1 per day is 
assessed for the holding of the car. Forty-eight hours 
are allowed for the reconsignment or switching orders, 
but this does not apply when cars are moved from one 
delivery track to another for the accommodation of con- 
signees. Freight in bond is allowed 48 hours' free time 
for removal from the first 7 a. m. after permit to receive 
the goods is issued by the collector of customs. Freight 
held for billing, milling, shelling, etc., or for change of 
load by the owner or his agent, is allowed 48 hours' free 
time, and if transferred to other cars the charge will con- 
tinue and must be collected or billed as advances. On 
cars billed to order, demurrage charges must be collected 
before delivery of the freight. Time is computed from 
the first 7 a. m. after notice of arrival is given ; if delivered 
to private tracks, after the cars have been placed. There 
are practically 300 car-service days in the year, certain 
holidays and Sundays being excluded. 

Grain in bulk is allowed 48 hours' free time, from 12 
o'clock noon of the day of arrival, if it is inspected before 
10 a. m. of the same day; if not, from 12 o'clock noon 
of the next day. Grain ordered to elevators will be held for 
5 days from the first 7 a. m. after orders are filed with 
agent. I am also informed that an allowance of 5 days 
is made after inspection for the filing of orders. Grain 
from connecting lines will be held 48 hours free from the 
first 7 a. m. after receipt of cars by the secondary line for 
the placing of final billing directions. Cars for loading 
at elevators are allowed 48 hours' free time. The reason 



APPENDIX 477 

given for the allowance of 5 days after the filing of orders 
on grain for elevators is that an elevator is devoted to 
public service — that is, it cannot regulate shipments to it, 
it must take everything that comes — and that it would be 
a hardship to force it to pay demurrage when a rise in the 
market had filled the elevator's tracks with cars loaded 
with grain. Then the elevator must load cars too, and 
there is, of course, a limit to its capacity. 

On baled hay and straw 48 hours' free time is allowed 
after being placed on the track in the delivery-yard for the 
placing of orders, and 48 hours' additional time is allowed 
for unloading after the order is filed at the local office for 
disposition. This is for the purpose of allowing inspec- 
tion of the contents of the cars ; for the tendency of ship- 
pers is to put the best hay and straw, as the case may be, 
nearest the door. A passageway is cleared out lengthwise 
through the middle of the car for the purpose of such 
inspection by the agents of the Hay Receivers' Association, 
who are the wholesale commission men in this line. This 
operation is called "plugging" and cannot be done in an 
outside yard, so the car must be brought to the team 
tracks. 

Cars loaded with coal or coke may be held on the 
storage tracks of the railroads for 5 days, but must be 
unloaded within 48 hours after being placed on the team 
track. The reason for this is that, in large centers, it is 
necessary for coal dealers to keep a certain quantity of 
coal in reserve stock ; coal, too, is very low-grade freight 
and, on account of the low rate at which it is hauled, is 
subjected to many delays by railroads, which results in 
bunching in transit. In order to offset these things, the 
allowance of 5 days is made. 

When cars are held for payment of freight charges, 



47 8 RAILWAY ORGANIZATION AND WORKING 

demurrage is assessed after 48 hours from the notice of 
arrival. Cars are not exempted from payment of demur- 
rage by reason of the consignee not being able to receive 
them, and only in cases of especial hardship are these 
charges canceled by the manager of the association. If a 
consignee is unable to receive the freight or to unload 
the cars, and for that reason the delivering line refuses 
to receive cars from a connecting line consigned to such 
consignee, the agent of such connecting line holding cars 
for such consignee must immediately notify either the 
consignor or the consignee of inability to deliver such 
cars, and demurrage shall be charged if delivery cannot 
be effected within the time allowed for reconsignment. 
When both cars and tracks on which cars are held are 
owned by the same party (not a railway company), no 
charge is made; but when private cars are detained on 
tracks operated by a member of the association, the car- 
service charges apply. 

Storage is charged when freight is unloaded at rail- 
road warehouses or platforms and is not removed within 
48 hours after the first 7 a. m. after notice. Freight in 
cars placed on delivery tracks, and subject to demurrage 
charges while on such tracks, if subsequently unloaded 
and sent to railroad warehouse or platforms, is then sub- 
ject to storage charges. Freight received for shipment, 
and held for directions or to complete a shipment, will be 
charged storage after the first 48 hours from the first 7 
a. m. after receipt. The storage charges in use in the 
Chicago Association are, on less-than-carload freight, 
5 cents per ton per day after the first 48 hours, and this 
applies whether the freight is in a warehouse or in a car. 
On carload freight in a warehouse the same rate applies, 
but only when in the warehouse. Some kinds of freight, 



APPENDIX 479 

such as glass and glassware, do not under any considera- 
tion take the carload rate, their lightness and bulkiness 
making it impossible to load a car to its full capacity. 
Such goods are charged storage rates under all circum- 
stances, whether in a car or a warehouse. 

Car-service charges must be collected regardless of 
weather conditions, unless exemption is authorized by 
the manager of the association. Live-stock and company 
material are exempt from car-service rules. Live stock 
is always unloaded immediately at destination and can- 
not by law be held over 28 hours without unloading. 
Hence, any regulation by the association would be inef- 
fective. Demurrage and storage charges are to be col- 
lected in the same manner as transportation or switching 
charges, and freight upon which car service has accrued 
is not allowed to be removed until charges have been 
paid. When payment is refused, the agent must hold the 
freight and assess regular charges until removed, or he 
may send the freight to a public warehouse or yard, where 
it will be held subject to storage charges. When cars are 
detained on private tracks beyond the free time, and pay- 
ment of demurrage is refused, the agent of the company 
delivering such cars, after giving five days' notice, can 
decline to switch the cars to the private tracks of such 
parties, and will thereafter tender freight from public 
team tracks and collect freight charges before delivery, 
as well as any demurrage which may have accrued on such 
shipment. Notice of the arrival of the car or shipment is 
given, but not of the commencement of demurrage 
charges. The average detention of cars is not recognized. 

Notable variations from these regulations may be noted 
as follows : By statute the roads comprising the New 
England Car Service Association are required to allow 



4$o RAILWAY ORGANIZATION AND WORKING 

96 hours for unloading and loading each car. In Missouri 
and Kansas 3 days' free time is fixed by statute. The 
Terminal Dispatch Association of Minneapolis allows 
but 24 hours for loading or unloading. Only one other 
association (the New England Association) allows 96 
hours for sampling hay and straw. Out of thirty-seven 
associations, four allow 72 hours for storage of coal and 
coke, one allows 96 hours, and one (the Chicago associa- 
tion) 5 days. Five allow seventy-two hours on "furnace 
materials." Three allow seventy-two hours on paving 
material. Two allow 72 hours on lumber. One allows 72 
hours on lime. The Texas Car Service Association has 
no limit on elevator grain. One association allows 72 
hours on fruit and vegetables ; one, 96 hours, and one, 
120 hours. 

In the "Rules Relating to Storage, Demurrage, and 
Car Service of the State Corporation Commission of 
Virginia" provision is made for the payment by the rail- 
road company of $1 per day for failure to supply cars 
when requested, excepting for coal and coke shipments ; 
also that shipments must be received immediately by 
agents when presented, and carried forward at a rate of 
not less than fifty miles per day. For failure to do so 
$1 per day shall be charged against the railroad by the 
shipper, or 1 cent per 100 pounds per day, with a mini- 
mum charge of 5 cents per day, "upon demand in writing 
by the shipper or other party whose interest is affected 
by such delay." A period of 24 hours is allowed for re- 
handling or transfer. Companies are liable to a charge 
of $1 per day for failure to give notice of the arrival of a 
shipment. The railroad company must place cars in "ac- 
cessible" places for unloading, under the same penalty. 
Provision is made for payment of demurrage to the rail- 



APPENDIX 481 

road company when cars, ready for loading, are held on 
the loading-track more than 48 hours, but the railroad 
company must consider cars released if held in excess of 
48 hours over the 48 hours' free time — thus limiting de- 
murrage chargeable for loading cars to $2. Railroad 
companies cannot be required to furnish cars to parties in 
default of demurrage charges. Provision is also made 
for allowance in case of irregularity or bunching in the 
furnishing and delivery of cars. It is also provided that 
a consignor or consignee five miles or more from a depot 
shall not be held liable for storage or demurrage charges 
until "sufficient time" has elapsed after notice to remove 
or unload the goods, such time limit not to exceed five 
days, however. Ten days' free time is granted to coal. 
Private cars on private tracks are exempted from the 
rules. 

These rules are given simply to show the present prac- 
tice in different parts of the country, and are continually 
being changed in one respect or another. 

The history of the demurrage charge and the car- 
service association is interesting. Previous to 1888 no 
systematic method of applying car-service charges was em- 
ployed. The railroads had so-called "demurrage rules," 
which they applied usually to the small shippers. The 
charge was from $1 to $5 per car per day. In the early 
seventies a suit against the Chicago & North-Western on 
account of excessive demurrage was decided against the 
railway company. On November 1, 1888, in Chicago, 
the first car-service association was organized to bring 
about uniformity in practice. This was the result of a 
meeting of the General Time Convention, the predecessor 
of the American Railway Association. A charge of $1 
per car per day was agreed upon, irrespective of the ca- 



482 RAILWAY ORGANIZATION AND WORKING 

pacity of the car. At that time $1 per car per day was an 
equitable charge, but now, with the increased capacity 
of cars and with their increased earning power, $1 per 
day has ceased to be a sufficient charge, if remuneration 
of the company for the use of the car is desired. The 
average earning power of a car is about $2.75 per day. On 
account of repairs, depreciation, and interest charges, it 
costs about. 50 cents per day simply to own a car. In ad- 
dition to the loss to the company of this $3.25 per day 
for each day a car is kept out of service, there is the 
loss to the public of the advantage gained by the use of 
the car. A car is a public utility, and anyone using up or 
monopolizing such should pay a penalty. Especially in 
a large terminal, where the land is worth many hundreds 
of dollars a foot, is it true that $1 per day is not a sufficient 
charge. 

Demurrage charges have been the subject of much 
litigation, and there have been a number of attempts to 
have the charge made statutory. However, it is so well 
recognized as being a proper charge that the right to 
make such a charge is now never questioned. There have 
been some attempts to enforce and to provide by statute 
a reciprocal demurrage — something similar to that prac- 
ticed in Virginia, referred to above ; and there have been 
a great many arguments advanced for and against ; but it 
does not appear that there is any real reciprocity in an 
arrangement whereby shippers would receive pay for all 
delays above what may be predetermined as a reasonable 
amount, incident to the as yet unperfected business of rail- 
roading, and as an offset to the charge levied by railroads 
for the use of their equipment by shippers beyond the rea- 
sonable time for loading or unloading. In one decision 
the demurrage charge is defined as "in its essential char- 



APPENDIX 483 

acter a charge for storage." A charge levied on the rail- 
roads would be a penalty for delays, in the nature of a 
fine, and would pay for no service. On the other hand, a 
shipper always has the option of a recourse to the courts 
for damages suffered on account of delays to shipments 
due to negligence, etc., of the railroad. 

Cases bearing on different aspects of car service and 
the demurrage charge may be mentioned : 

In the case of Kehoe & Co. vs. the Charleston & West- 
ern Carolina Railway Co., before the Interstate Commerce 
Commission, objection was made to the amount of de- 
murrage charged. It was contended that the cars in 
which the shipment in question was transported, were 
owned by a railroad company other than the one assess- 
ing the demurrage charges ; also that the railway 
delivering was charging $1 per day on a car for which 
it paid only 20 cents per day. The defendants answered 
that the 20 cents per day was not supposed to be a 
rental, but was "an arbitrary sum agreed upon among 
the various railroads for the purpose of settling car 
accounts with each other," and showed that the rental 
value of a car was much greater than $1 per day — that its 
earning power was approximately $2.25 per day. It was 
argued by the plaintiff that the former price paid for 
foreign cars was three-quarters of a cent per mile, which 
price was subsequently reduced to six mills per mile, and 
that, if railroads had been operated upon a compensatory 
basis up to three years prior to that time, why had they 
fixed a sum which was not supposed to be a compensa- 
tion ; that the fact that private cars were paid mileage 
rates led to the same conclusion ; that cattle-cars were paid 
for at the rate of three-quarters of a cent per mile, and this 
was found remunerative because "railroad companies 



484 RAILWAY ORGANIZATION AND WORKING 

would pay shippers a premium out of the wheelage 
charges for the use of their cars ;" at six mills per mile it 
was not extremely profitable. In the decision it was 
stated that it was to be noted that while a car is in service 
it is depreciating in value; that the question was not 
whether the charge was a reasonable sum; that it was 
the duty of the carrier to transport freight to its destina- 
tion and to deliver it to the consignee, and the duty of the 
consignee to receive the freight within a reasonable time ; 
that, if he neglected to do so, the railroad company's 
liability as a carrier ceased and it became simply a ware- 
houseman and might insist upon the consignee receiving 
and removing the freight ; that it would be not only em- 
barrassing but impossible for railroads to handle freight 
if terminals were congested by cars which were awaiting 
unloading ; that the demurrage charge was a penalty, but 
that it was not a hardship and was sufficient for the pur- 
pose intended. 

It was held in Pennsylvania, in the Millers' State As- 
sociation vs. the Philadelphia & Reading Railroad Co. (8 
/. C. C. Rep. 531), that forty-eight hours was a reason- 
able time for unloading. 

In the Blackman cases (10 /. C. C. Rep. 353) it was 
held that the Southern Railway might apply for interstate 
business the same storage rates as those prescribed for 
state business, and that such rates were reasonable, al- 
though much higher than those charged by warehouses 
for the service of storage. 

The cases of the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad vs. Gray's 
Ferry Abattoir Co., appellant, in the Superior Court of 
Pennsylvania, and of the Pennsylvania Railroad Co. vs. 
the Midvale Steel Co. (201 Pa. 624), are authorities that 
establish the right of a carrier by rail to enforce a rule fix- 



APPENDIX 485 

ing a reasonable charge for unloading without special 
notice to shipper or consignee. The court in its opinion 
says : "The plaintiff has an unquestionable right as a 
common carrier to make reasonable rules to speed the un- 
loading of its cars. Cars are for the transportation of 
freight — not for storage ;" and that "the rule is mani- 
festly a reasonable one both as to time and charge." 

The Railroad and Warehouse Commission of the State 
of Minnesota states, in its opinion in the case of the Board 
of Trade of St. Paul vs. The Terminal Dispatch (Car 
Service) Association, that "neither railroad companies 
nor shippers have the right to use railroad cars for store- 
houses." 

Baldwin's American Railway Law (1904, p. 357) says 
that 

a rule imposing a demurrage charge of a reasonable sum, such 
as a dollar a day for loaded cars which the consignee fails to un- 
load within forty-eight hours after arrival, is a reasonable one. 
Cars are designed for vehicles — not storehouses. Such a rule 
enters into the contract for shipment, and, if it has properly 
been made public, binds all consignees, though without actual 
notice of it. 

In the case of a shipment of armor plate to the Union 
Iron Works at San Francisco, the Atchison, Topeka & 
Santa Fe Railway Co. billed against the government for 
$12 demurrage for failure to unload. The payment was 
refused on the ground that the Iron Works were at fault 
in not unloading. The Comptroller of the Treasury in 
his opinion states that 

the armor plate with which the cars were loaded was the 
property of the government and continued all the time in its 
ownership; the contract for carriage was between the United 
States and the railway; the Union Iron Works was not known 



486 RAILWAY ORGANIZATION AND WORKING 

in the transaction, and there was no privity of contract whatever 
between it and the railway company. For these reasons I am 
of the opinion that the United States is liable for the demurrage 

charged I am of the opinion, further, that as it was the 

duty of the Union Iron Works to unload the cars at its own 
expense, and as it was without fault of the government, but was 
caused by the congested condition of the Iron Works yard, it is 
liable to the United States for the damages caused by the delay. 

In the case of the Thomas Phillips Co. vs. the Erie 
Railroad Co., in the Circuit Court of Summit County, 
Ohio, the railroad company was sued for damages accru- 
ing because of failure to deliver cars to the plaintiff on its 
private track. The defendant, it seems, had delivered a 
number of cars on such private siding, and payment of 
demurrage charges accruing on some of them was 
refused. The defendant, according to the rules of the 
Cleveland Car Service Association, notified the Phillips 
Company that until such demurrage was paid it would 
deliver only on public team tracks. It was held by the 
court that such rule was "just and fair in order to secure 
the speedy unloading and return of cars, and to avoid 
detention thereof by shippers and consignees." 

In the cases of the Kentucky Wagon Manufacturing 
Co. vs. the Louisville & Nashville Railroad Co. (98 Ky. 
152), and of Bowen & Schumacher vs. the Chicago & 
North- Western Railroad Co., in Illinois, this conclusion 
is also borne out: that the failure on the part of a con- 
signee to unload a car within a certain time works an 
injury to the railroad, for its car is thereby for the time 
being put out of use ; it works an injury to the consignors 
for the time being, for the reason that it loses the benefit 
of such car when there is a congestion of traffic; that it 
requires very strict rules to keep cars moving, for the 
tendency on the part of shippers or consignees is to forget 



APPENDIX 487 

about the car that is awaiting loading or unloading ; that 
it is well founded in law that the lien for storage charges 
is a right to retain possession of the goods until the satis- 
faction of the charges imposed. 

In the Supreme Court of Mississippi, in the case of the 
New Orleans & North-Eastern Railroad Co. vs. A. H. 
George & Co. (35 So. Rep. 193), in 1903, the right of 
the railway company to hold goods from delivery on 
private track until demurrage charges were paid, and 
even to sell all or part of the shipment to pay such 
charges after a considerable time has elapsed, is held. 

It is also held that, even though a party may be un- 
reasonable in refusing to deliver goods upon which he 
has a lien, and even though he charges more than he is 
entitled to, the lien is not defeated unless the owner or 
party desiring the possession of the goods makes a tender 
of either the amount due or what he deems a reasonable 
amount. (William A. Russell vs. Balthaeser Koehler, 66 
111. 459 ; Lowenberg vs. Arkansas & Louisiana Railway 
Co., 19 S. W. Rep. 105 1 ; and others.) 

The right of the railroad company to recover charges 
for the detention of cars by consignees after a reasonable 
period after they are placed for unloading is established 
by the following cases: Worden vs. Remis (32 Conn. 
268) ; Kentucky Wagon Co. vs. Louisville & Nashville 
Railroad Co. (11 Ry. and Corp. Jour. 49) ; etc., etc. ; and 
in many other states in the eastern, south central, and 
western parts of the country. 

The lien of the railway company for unreasonable de- 
tention and use of cars is established by Norfolk & 
Western Railway vs. Adams et al. (90 Va. 393) ; Ellcott 
on Railroads, sees. 1567, 1568; Miller vs. Mansfield (112 
Mass. 260). 



INDEX 



INDEX 



Accounting : see Auditing. 

Acworth, W. M., 138. 

Addressograph machines, 24. 

Advertising, 23 ; agents of con- 
necting lines. 24 ; agents, local, 
25 ; appropriations, 35 ; book- 
lets, 32 > coupon advertising, 
31 ; employees, 35 ; follow-up 
methods, 26 ; immigration, 
35 ; lands, new, 35 ; lectures, 
33 ; mail-order publications, 
29 ; newspapers, 28. 

Advertising bureau of passenger 
service, 79. 

Agents, distribution of adver- 
tising matter to, 26. 

American type of locomotives, 
220. 

Analytical methods of working 
statistics, 369. 

Armour Car Lines, 188. 

Armour, J. Ogden, 109. 

Arrangement of freight-houses, 
449. 

Association of American Rail- 
way Accounting Officers, 267, 
356. 

Atlantic type of locomotive, 221. 

Auditing : General Auditor's 
office, 204 ; advisory capacity 
to President, 289 ; balance- 
sheet, 283 ; classification of 
expenditures, 288 ; duties of 
General Auditor, 264, 269 ; 
general ledger, 270 ; historical 
development, 264 ; income ac- 
count, 286 ; organization of de- 
partment, 268 ; other com- 
panies' and individuals' ledger, 
279 ; station agents' ledger, 
280 ; sub-ledgers, 273 ; traffic 



ledgers, 277 ; uniformity of 
accounting methods, 266. 

Auditing: expenditures, 295; 
bills, 301 ; classifications, 316 ; 
connection with other offices, 
297 ; construction expendi- 
tures, 298 ; distribution clerks, 
306 ; drafts, 300 ; freight- 
claim authorities, 311 ; inven- 
tories, 315; joint bills, 297; 
labor, 318 ; material disburse- 
ments, 299 ; material distribu- 
tion, 301 ; payment of vouch- 
ers, 309; pay-rolls, 318; re- 
curring prymerts, 305 ; requi- 
sitions, 301 ; Statistical De- 
partment, 323 ; time-checks, 
322; time-slips, 319; traveling 
accountants, 330 ; vouchers, 
299 ; voucher abstract, 303. 

Auditing — freight : card waybills, 
340 ; checking freight reports, 
347 ; division earnings, 354 ; 
division of interline freight 
revenue, 351 ; division of 
office work, 342 ; Freight 
Claim Agent, 363 ; freight- 
forwarded report, 342 ; freight- 
received report, 340 ; milling 
in transit, 364 ; revision of 
waybills, 344 ; station agents, 
361; statistics, 360; waybills, 
339- 

Auditor of Freight Accounts, 
338. 

Automatic block, 206. 

Baggage Department, 20 ; han- 
dling at terminals, 178. 

Balance-sheet, 283. 

Ballast, 160; cost, 173; defini- 
tion, 160; handling, 173; 



491 



49 2 RAILWAY ORGANIZATION AND WORKING 



quantities per mile of track, 

174; requisites, 161; varieties, 

162. 
Basis of rates, 127. 
Bills, 301, 312. 
Bills of lading, 118. 
Block signaling systems, 200. 
Boston Terminal Company, 183. 
Bureau of railroad employment, 

124; of railway information, 

422. 
By-laws, 3. 



Canadian bridges, 395. 

Canadian Pacific Railway, 391. 

Canadian railway development, 
387 ; effect of heavy engines, 
394 ; famous bridges, 395 ; 
Grand Trunk Pacific Railway, 
399 ; Guarantee Act of 1849, 
387 ; introduction of uniform 
gauge, 397 ; railway system, 
388 ; St. Lawrence & Cham- 
plain 387. 

Car Accountant, station reports 
to, 461. 

Car capacities, 253. 

Car construction, 243 ; capaci- 
ties, 253 ; draft rigging, 247 ; 
frame construction, 250 ; gov- 
erning factors, 258 ; history, 
243 ; standardization of de- 
tails, 246 ; types of trucks, 
262. 

Car distribution and supervision 
of fast freight, 80 ; car dis- 
tributor, 82 ; car record, 88 ; 
cars set en route, 98 ; cars 
set out for repairs, 96 ; car- 
order form, 81 ; coal-cars, 86 ; 
conditions to be met, 80 ; 
Daly's manifest fast-freight 
board, 90 ; manifest freight, 
89 ; perishable commodities, 
86 ; reduction of empty-car 



mileage, 82 ; Superintendent 
of Transportation, 83 ; time 
freight, 89. 

Car distributor, 82. 

Car service at terminals, 99 ; bills 
of lading, 118, 473; causes of 
claims, 120 ; education of em- 
ployees, 125 ; equipment pools, 
109; Freight Claim Agent, 
114; Freight Claim Associa- 
tion, 116; joint operation of 
terminals, 100; liability of 
carrier at law, 113; litigation 
in handling claims, 116; mile- 
age rentals, 104 ; per diem 
rentals, 104; retention of 
foreign cars, 103; Rules, 463; 
statistics of claims, 114; 
Union Pacific equipment pool, 
no. 

Car shortage, 101. 

Cars set out for repairs, 96. 

Car trucks, types of, 262. 

Chicago & North-Western Rail- 
way, organization of Operat- 
ing Department, 143. 

Chicago Car Service Associa- 
tion rules, 477. 

Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul 
Railway car distribution, 107. 

Chicago Stock Yards, 99. 

Chief dispatcher, 81. 

Claim Agents, 8. 

Claims, freight, 113. 

Classification of expenditures, 
316; of locomotives, 86. 

Coal and station piers, 195. 

Coal-cars, distribution of, 86. 

Cole compound engines, 237. 

College, Railway, now develop- 
ing, 407. 

Columbia locomotive type, 221. 

Commercial clubs, 58. 

Commissary, 10. 



INDEX 



493 



Commodity units used in statis- 
tics, 372. 

Compound locomotive, 226. 

Comptroller, 264 ; also see 
Auditing. 

Congestion at terminals, 108. 

Consolidated locomotives, 219. 

Construction expenditures, 298. 

Correspondence courses for rail- 
way employees, 413, 421. 

Cost of ballast in place, 173 ; due 
to operation, 381 ; by operat- 
ing divisions, 383. 

Coupon advertising, 31. 

Courses of railway instruction, 
416. 

Crissey, Forrest, 32. 

Cross compounding, 231. 

Daly's manifest fast-freight 
board, 90. 

Damaged cars, 79. 

Decapod locomotives, 219. 

De Glehn types of compound lo- 
comotives, 235. 

Delay in transit, 155. 

Delivery to wrong person, 122. 

Demand for railway education, 
403. 

Department of Agriculture, 46. 

Development of locomotive con- 
struction, 225 ; of Canadian 
railways, 385. 

Disbursements, Auditor of, 269, 
295. 

Discriminations in rates, 131. 

Distribution clerks, 306. 

Division passenger agents, 30. 

Draft rigging and couplers, 247. 

Drafts, 300. 

Duties of freight-traffic officials, 
429. 



Early signal apparatus, 197. 
Earnings of railways, 369. 
Economy of compounds, 238. 
Education of employees, 125, 

402. 
Empty-car mileage, 82. 
Engineering courses in colleges, 

419. 
Equipment pool, 109. 
Express business at terminals, 

179. 

Fast freight, Red Ball system, 
458 ; kind of freight so 
moved, 458 ; operation of sys- 
tem, 459. 

Finance, course of study in, 419. 

Foreign-line bill record, 313. 

Frame construction, 250. 

Free transportation, 14. 

Freight : Auditor, 335 ; car 
construction, 254 ; claim agent, 
114, 363', claim associations, 
116; claim authorities, 311; 
cost of handling, 447 ; delivery 
to house, 452 ; effect of con- 
gestion, 447 ; in-house, 450 ; 
out-house, 449 ; "spotting" of 
cars, 451 ; vericheck system, 
455 ; wages, 456. 

Freight-house, description of, 
441. 

Freight : less than carload, see 
Less - than - carload freight ; 
rates; see Rates, 127; re- 
ceived, clerical work at termi- 
nals, 76 ; revenue, accounting 
for, 269 ; station, details of, 
188. 

Freight storage, 191. 

Freight terminals, types, 184. 

Freight Traffic Department, 
duties of officials, 429 ; assist- 
ants, 431 ; course of instruc- 
tion, 419; Freight Traffic 



494 RAILWAY ORGANIZATION AND WORKING 



Manager, 431 ; General Freight 

Agent, 43 1 ; Vice-President, 

43o. 
Freight Traffic Manager, 430. 
Freight Traffic statistics, 370. 
Freight-yards, 185. 
Fuel : Accountant, reports to, 

438; Agent, 151; Inspector, 

154. 

General Passenger Agent, 9. 
Goodwill, secured by the Indus- 
trial Commissioner, 61. 
Government aid in Canada, 387. 
Grain inspection, 78. 
Grand Trunk Railway, 388. 

Illinois Central out-freighthouse, 
440 ; surburban service, 37. 

Immigration advertising, 30 ; bu- 
reau, 10, 20. 

Income account, 286. 

Incorporation, 2. 

Index clerk, 307. 

Industrial Commissioner, 44 ; 
commercial clubs, 58 ; cost of 
labor, 54 ; dependence upon 
other departments, 52 ; de- 
velopment of department, 46 ; 
familiarity with route neces- 
sary, S3 ; function of office, 45 ; 
increase of industrial impor- 
tance, 48 ; local conditions 
considered, 54 ; markets, 57 ; 
optimism necessary, 51 ; 
power, 56 ; raw material, 55 ; 
value of statistical informa- 
tion, 51. 

Industrial side-tracks, 192. 

In-freight, 73. 

Interline Freight Department, 
35i- 

Interlocking slants, 198. 

Interstate Commerce Commis- 
sion, 6, 316, 287. 



Inventory, 315. 
Irrigation, 47. 

Joint management of terminals 
desirable, 65. 

Kruttschnitt, J., no. 

Laboratories for inspection of 
material, 155. 

Labor cost, influence upon traf- 
fic, 55 ; disbursements, 318 ; 
problem as benefited by, the 
University of Chicago's work, 
414 ; unions, 65. 

Laisses faire, relation to rates, 
135. 

Law, decisions applicable to car 
service, 483. 

Ledgers, 27. 

Legal Department, work of, 1 ; 
by-laws, 3 ; claim agents, 7 ; 
consolidation, 3 ; current busi- 
ness, 3 ; bills of lading, 4 ; con- 
tracts, 4 ; claims, 5 ; condemna- 
tion proceedings, 5 ; garnish- 
ments, 6 ; leases, 4 ; General 
Counsel, 7 ; local attorneys ; re- 
lations with state ; legislation, 
6 ; ordinances, 6 ; taxation, 6 ; 
traffic agreements, 3. 

Less-than-carload freight : han- 
dling at terminals, 63 ; billing, 
70 ; congestion, 63 ; cost vs. 
service, 66 ; delays in forward- 
ing freight, 71 ; in-freight, 73; 
irregular delivery to carrier, 
64 ; labor difficulties, 74 ; re- 
ceiving clerks and callers, 69 ; 
vericheck system, 67. 

Litigation connected with claim 
settlement, 116. 

Loading freight, 122. 

Local attorneys, 7. 

Locomotives : "Americans," ten- 
wheelers, and "Mastodons," 
220 ; cause of numerous types, 



INDEX 



495 



222 ; classification by tractive 
power, 217; by wheels, 217; 
"Columbia," "Prairie," "Mi- 
kado," 221 ; "Consolidated," 
"Atlantic," "Pacific," 222; de- 
velopment of locomotive con- 
struction, 223 ; "Forneys" and 
"double-enders," 218; heavy 
types injurious, 394 ; method 
of classification, 212 ; "Mo- 
gul" compound, 219 ; Whyte 
classification, 214. 
Locomotives, compound, 226 ; 
adaptation to other types, 
229 ; advantages, 239 ; "Cross" 
compounds, 235 ; "De Glehn" 
types, 235 ; economy of opera- 
tion, 238 ; history of com- 
pounds, 226 ; "Mallet Articu- 
lated" compound, 237 ; two- 
cylinder type, 228 ; "Tan- 
dem" compounds, 231 ; Vau- 
clains four-cylinder type, 228 ; 
"Webb" compounds, 235. 

Mail, handling at terminals, 179. 

"Mallet" compound engines, 
228, 237. 

Manifest freight, 89 ; numbers, 
93- 

Markets, 57. 

Master Mechanic, 142. 

"Mastodon" locomotives, 220. 

Mechanical course in the Rail- 
way Courses, 419. 

Midgley, J. W., 465- 

"Mikado" type of engines, 221. 

Milling in transit, 364. 

Newspaper advertising, 29. 
Novelty advertising, 29. 
Numerals, use of, in classifica- 
tion of locomotives, 213. 

Operating Department, 141, 419; 
growth, 141 ; Master Mechan- 



ic, 142 ; organization, 141 ; of 
Chicago & North-Western 
Railway, 143 ; statistics, 375. 

Operation of manifest board, 92. 

Order or notify manifest freight, 
122. 

Organization of Accounting De- 
partment, 268 ; of Operating 
Department ; of out-freight 
house, 141, 145. 

Out-freight : clerical work of, 
78 ; handling, 66 ; as handled 
by Illinois Central, 446 ; de- 
scription of house, 440 ; organ- 
ization of employees, 442 ; 
handling of freight, 444 ; 
perishable freight, 446. 

"Pacific" locomotives, 221. 

Passenger - engine roundhouses, 
181 ; revenue, accounting for, 
269 ; stations, 182 ; terminals, 
177. 

Passenger equipment yards, 180 ; 
storage, 180; cleaning, 181. 

Passenger Traffic Department : 
commissary, 10, 20; course of 
study given, 419 ; free busi- 
ness, 14 ; function, 9, 22 ; 
mail and express, 10 ; rates, 
15 ; reports from agents, 21 ; 
soliciting force, 20 ; statistics, 
375- 

Pay-rolls, 318. 

Penalty notice, 468. 

Pennsylvania Lines, cars, 107. 

Per diem, 104; per diem and 
car-service rules, 463 ; condi- 
tions before per diem, 463 ; 
rules, 465 ; penalty notice, 
468 ; effect of rules, 471 ; traf- 
fic pool, 472 ; car-service asso- 
ciations, 474 ; Chicago Car 
Service Association rules, 477 ; 
history of demurrage, 482 ; 
decisive legal cases, 483. 



49 6 RAILWAY ORGANIZATION AND WORKING 



Perishable commodities, 86, 446. 

Political economy in railway 
work, 50. 

Pools, railroad view, m. 

Population movements, 48. 

Power for factories, 56. 

Private car lines, 473. 

Pullman Company, 188. 

Purchase of material ; requisi- 
tions, 152; contracts, 153; 
bids, 153. 

Purchasing Department, 147 : 
authority, 150; evolution, 147; 
Fuel Department, 151 ; fuel 
inspector, 154; laboratories, 
J 55 ; requisitions, 152; sale of 
old material, 158; stationery, 
158; stores, 152, 157; tie in- 
spector, 152. 

Railway education as university 
work, 402 ; correspondence 
tuition, 424; curriculum, 410; 
demand for railway education, 
403 ; entrance requirements, 
407 ; historical justification of 
work, 403 ; instruction now 
given, 414 ; instructors, 424 ; 
outline of proposed depart- 
ment, 405 ; scope of work, 408 ; 
syllabus of courses offered, 
416. 

Rate clerk, 77. 

Rate-cutting, by passenger ser- 
vice, 16. 

Rates, freight, 127; basis, 127; 
complexity, 130; discrimina- 
tions, 131; principles, 128; 
rebates, 139 ; theories of mak- 
ing rates, 132; distance, 132; 
cost of service, 133 ; equi- 
mileage, 133. 

Rates, passenger, 15. 

Raw materials, 56. 

Rebates on freight, 139. 



Receipting for freight, 119. 
Receipts, accounting for, 269. 
Receipts vs. revenue, 296. 
Recurring payments, 305. 
"Red Ball" freight, 458. 
Repair- and storage-yards, 187. 
Requirements of admission to 

railway courses, 407. 
Requisitions, 152, 304. 
Revision of waybills, 344. 
Rigney, J. T., 104, 404. 

St. Louis Union Station, 183. 

Scrap, sale of, 150. 

Seals for cars, 76. 

Seal-takers, 76. 

Seasonable demands for cars, 85. 

"Seed and soil" trains, 58. 

Shunting, poling, and hump- 
yards, 186. 

Signaling, 196 ; automatic block, 
206 ; block, 200 ; controlled 
manual block, 201 ; early sig- 
naling apparatus, 197 ; inter- 
locking plants, 198 ; kinds of 
signals, 196 ; staff block, 203 ; 
telegraph block, 201. 

Specifications of material pur- 
chased, 155. 

Staff system for block work, 203. 

Standardization in car construc- 
tion, 256. 

State attorneys, 7. 

Station agents, 361. 

Station, returns to, 433 ; Car Ac- 
countant, 438 ; Freight Au- 
ditor, 434 ; Freight Claim 
Agent, 439 ; Fuel Accountant, 
438 ; General Auditor, 433 ; 
General Solicitor, 440. 

Stationery, 158. 

Statistics of claims, 114; dis- 
bursements, 323 ; freight-cars, 



INDEX 



497 



ioi ; freight earnings, 360 ; 
out-freight business, 75 ; pas- 
senger earnings, 11 ; Union 
Pacific equipment pool, no; 
value to Industrial Commis- 
sioner, 50. 

Statistics vitalized, 369 ; cost 
and earrings by divisions, 383 ; 
direct cost of operation, 381 ; 
freight traffic, 370 ; gross and 
traction ton-miles, 380; in- 
validity of operating ratio, 
378 ; monthly commodity 
units, 372 ; operating statis- 
tics, 375 ; passenger statistics, 
375 ; railroad earnings, 369. 

Stock-pens, 192. 

Storekeepers, 152. 

Stores, Department, 157. 

Sub-ledgers, 273. 

Suburban passenger service, 37 ; 
Columbian Exposition serv- 
ice, 37 ; factor in urban 
growth, 38 ; Illinois Central 
service, 37 ; side-door cars, 
41 ; station facilities, 42 ; traf- 
fic movements, 40. 

Superintendents of Transporta- 
tion, 83. 

Supervision of fast freight, 80, 
189. 

System of car distribution, 83. 



178; of express, 179; of mail, 
179; industrial spurs, 192; 
passenger - coach yards, 180 ; 
passenger-engine roundhouses, 
181 ; passenger stations, 182 ; 
passenger terminals, 177; rail 
and water terminals, 193 ; re- 
pair- and storage-yards, 187; 
stock-pens, 192 ; team-tracks, 
192. 

Terminal yards, office work in, 
76 ; clerical routine, 76, 78 ; 
damaged freight, 79 ; rate 
clerks, 77 ; seal-takers, 76 ; 
transfer of freight, 78 ; wages 
currently paid, 79. 

Tickets, 19. 

Tie inspector, 152. 

Time-check, 322. 

Time-folders, 25. 

Time freight, 89. 

Time-slip, 319. 

Tractive power of locomotives, 
216. 

Train clerks, 77. 

Transfer freight, 78. 

"Transit" freight, 349. 

Traveling accountants, 330. 

Traveling teachers of railway 
work, 414. 

Types of locomotives, 222. 



Tandem compounds, 235. 

Tank locomotives, 42. 

Teamsters, uncertain labor, 65. 

Team-tracks, 192. 

Telegraph block, 201. 

Terminal facilities, 175 ; Boston 
Terminal Company station, 
183 ; classification-yards 186 ; 
coal and station piers, 195 ; 
freight terminals, types of, 
184, 188, 191 ; freight storage, 
191 ; handling of baggage, 



Union Pacific equipment pool, 
109. 

Unions among freight-house em- 
ployees, 74. 

University of Chicago Railway 
Courses, need of, 126 ; courses, 
401 ; scheme of courses, 419. 

Vauclain compound engines, 
234 ; four-cylinder type, 228. 

Vericheak system of handling 
miscellaneous freight, 67, 455. 



49 8 RAILWAY ORGANIZATION AND WORKING 

Voucher abstract, 303. Waybills, 339, 435 ; for fast 

Vouchers, 299. freight, 91. 

Webb compound engines, 231. 
Wages at terminals, 79- Whyte classification of locomo- 

Water terminals, 193. tives, 214. 






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